Red Frills
by clarallis
Summary: Ruby has never been entirely comfortable with her body. She always knew there was something wrong, but it's only just dawning on her what it is. How will her friends react to this?
1. Chapter 1

**Red Frills**

* * *

Chapter One

* * *

Dripping wet after her shower, Ruby felt around in the dark for her clothes on the floor. This was the first time since coming to Beacon that she had taken her evening shower with the lights off. For the past few weeks, she had to make do with just closing her eyes, since she still didn't feel familiar enough with the bathroom to navigate it by memory.

The room was dully illuminated only by the light that crept in under the door. She had kept it blocked off with her towel, but then she had to dry herself off. That's okay; it was still dark enough that she could hardly see.

Finally getting a hold of her pajamas, she stood up to put them on. She paused as a glint of light caught her eye. It was her eyes, reflected in the mirror. Silver. She smiled, rubbing the condensation off the glass. When she was little, she had disliked her eye colour. Almost everyone she knew had colourful, vibrant eyes. Her eye colour made her feel isolated and different compared to the other children from Patch. One day, after some boy at the playground made fun of her eyes, she ran home crying to Yang. Yang eventually managed to cheer her up by reading her a story about a man from Vacuo whose silver eyes supposedly granted him magical powers. In the story, the man stopped an entire pack of invading Beowolves dead in their tracks just by looking at them, saving his village from what would otherwise have been certain destruction.

Ruby had loved that story when she was small, and it still made its way into her dreams sometimes. But she eventually got over her dislike of her eyes when Yang told her that her mother had had the same silver eyes. Little Ruby only had vague memories of her mother, but after Yang showed her photographs Ruby recognised the warmth and love in her mother's eyes and decided from that day forth her eyes were something to be proud of.

Ruby blinked. Having been staring at her reflection for a few minutes, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she could make out the outline of her body. She shared her mother's figure, too. Turning slightly, she looked over her slender build and soft curves, her smooth skin. She often looked at her reflection this way, analyzing her feminine figure, wishing she would see something different...

"Rubes, you've been in there for twenty minutes!" Yang, her older sister, yelled at her through the door, knocking loudly. "Weiss needs to give herself a steam bath or something before her beauty rest."

"I didn't say that!" Weiss interjected. "I just want a shower like everybody else."

"Yeah, whatever. You can deal with this yourself, princess." Ruby heard a thud as Yang plopped herself on her bed.

Ruby was about to respond to all this when there came a softer knock at the door. Weiss.

"Are you okay in there, Ruby?" Weiss asked, with a just a hint of gentleness under her usual commanding tone of voice.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine!" Ruby sputtered. Then she cringed; her voice was so squeaky sometimes. Ruby didn't want Weiss to worry. It had only been a few days ago that Blake had revealed her faunus heritage. Since then, Weiss had become much more nervous about starting conflicts, losing much of the abrasive demeanor she'd had in their first few weeks at Beacon.

Ruby sighed and pulled on her pajamas with characteristic speed. She opened the door quickly, but it stopped suddenly, slamming into Weiss' face and knocking her over.

"Ahh, Weiss! I'm sorry!" Ruby cried. She darted out of the bathroom and looked over her partner, who was clutching her nose and waving her hands about. "What's wrong, is your nose broken? Do you need to go to a hospital?"

Weiss shot her a deadly look. "I'll be fine," she said, nasally. She sat up and tentatively let go of her nose.

"Uh, I really didn't mean to do that, I'm sorry, do you want me to make you hot chocolate or something, I think the cafe is still open, I can't remember, do you take whipped cream, or was that Blake..." Ruby trailed off as Weiss leaned over and peered into the bathroom.

"What the heck, why did you have the lights off in there?" Weiss asked.

"Umm... to save Dust of course!" Ruby scratched her head.

"Don't bother," Yang piped in, her voice muffled by her pillow. "Ruby has been doing that since she was, like, eleven or something. I've never understood why. Just another weird thing about my li'l sis."

Blake stretched out on her bed. "It's not weird, I do that too."

"Yeah, but you should have night vision, shouldn't you?" Weiss frowned. "Ruby is the clumsiest thing in the dark. You think you're sneaky, but I can hear you every time you trip over my bag in the night-time when you get out of bed to use the bathroom."

Ruby blushed. "Oh.." she said awkwardly. She glanced at the clock. "Hey, it's getting late, we should all get some rest before the exam tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow is Saturday, you dolt," Weiss sighed. "What is up with you?"

"Tomorrow is Saturday?" Yang asked, bolting up. "Hey, you're right! What am I doing sleeping this early on a weekend."

"Eleven is not that early," said Ruby cautiously.

"Oh man, Rubes, we can play more _Huntsman: Fighter_!" Yang exclaimed.

Ruby grinned. "You're on, sis." She marched over to the console in the corner and began setting the game up.

"Oh, no," Weiss groaned. "You two are _not_ keeping us up again with that racket. Even though it is a weekend, our exam is on Monday and it would be irresponsible to stay up late. We need to study tomorrow!"

Blake shrugged. "Let them play their game. It's been a long week." She was referring to the conflicts they'd faced as a team; how she ran from the rest of the team after admitting her involvement with the White Fang; their fight with Roman Torchwick, the Dust thief.

Weiss sighed. "Fine. But," she whirled, pointing at Ruby, "you slammed a door into me, so if you want to play with your sister you can play outside," she wheeled her arm to point at the door, "in the lounge. While I sleep. I'm too tired to listen to you guys argue about which one of those video game characters has the nicest muscles or whatever."

Ruby blushed. "Yang is the one who-" but Weiss blinked with so much apathy that she felt herself cut off.

"You are such a boy, Ruby," Weiss shook her head.

Yang wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder. "Yeah, she's always been a bit of a tomboy." Ruby smiled. "But she's still my adorable little sister," she said, leaning closer and ruffling her hair.

"Okay, Yang, you can shut up now," Ruby said quickly, embarrased. "Let's fight. Battle of the Titans, okay? I call dibs on Grey."

Yang rolled her eyes. "You always play as Grey, you know he'll never beat Burgundy."

Ruby picked up the console and carried it to the door, Weiss eyeing her with her arms crossed. "I was reading some strategy guides online actually, and apparently -" Ruby was cut off, again.

"You read a strategy guide?" Yang's jaw had dropped. "That ruins the fun! The whole point was to come up with clever strategies ourselves."

Weiss coughed pointedly. Yang followed Ruby out the door.

"Whatever, even with your strategy guide you know I'll still win," Yang continued.

Ruby laughed. "We'll see about that!"

* * *

Ruby and Yang were still playing boisterously in the lounge when Jaune Arc walked in.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked, sleepily.

It was a few seconds before Yang replied; the sisters were staring furiously at the screen. Then the sounds from the game stopped and bright flashing text popped up on the screen, causing Yang to stand up and pump her fist into the air.

"Ahh nothin' much, I'm just _owning my sister_ ," Yang exclaimed, then laughed ominously. Ruby grumbled.

"Oh, hey, is this the newest _Huntsman_ game?" Jaune asked.

Ruby nodded emphatically. "Yep, it has a whole new engine this time, and a ton of new characters, it's really cool."

Jaune sat down cross-legged next to her. "Can I try?" he asked, smiling.

Ruby frowned, looking at her sister. "Well... If we play three more matches I'll have lost to Yang playing as every possible character." Jaune looked confused. "Uh, I mean, she'll have beat me playing as every possible character. Wait, no that's still ambiguous. Um..."

"Meh, we can finish this another night, Rubles." Yang stretched and ruffled her sister's hair, looking at the clock. "Night's still young. I'm going to go see what Coco's up to. Knock yourself out, Jaune."

Ruby passed him Yang's controller. Jaune grinned.

"Controls are the same as in the last one, basically. Did you play last year's version?"

He shook his head. "Nahh, the one I played with my sisters was like, gosh, fifteen years old or something."

Ruby whistled. "Woah, man, that must have been the first one ever."

"Hmm, I think it was the second. But I couldn't be sure, that part of the title on the cartridge was coloured over in crayon by my youngest sister when she was 5."

She laughed. "Okay, well, the controls are probably pretty different then. Here, let me give you a quick tutorial. First pick your character"

He glanced up at the screen. "What am I looking at? What's this grid on the screen?"

Ruby waved her arms in front of his eyes. "Uh, duh, those are all the characters, doofus."

Jaune rubbed his eyes. "What, there are, like, fifty of them! How do I choose?"

Ruby shrugged. "What's your favourite colour?"

Jaune nodded and moved his cursor on the screen toward the yellow-hued section of the characters. "'Chartreuse'? Why are they all named after colours now?"

"Oh, a few years ago they got sued by some Huntress, umm, oh yeah it was the headmaster of Haven I think, anyway she didn't like being in the game I guess. So they swapped out the names for colours and changed the character designs very subtly."

"Wait, the characters are based on real people?" Jaune asked. "I always thought they were made up!"

Ruby laughed. "No way, doofus. Well, some of them are based on old legends, like Grey here." Ruby selected her favourite character. "He's really cool."

A tall, muscular man wearing a rather skimpy suit of armour popped up on the screen.

"They say that he could strike fear into the heart of a Goliath with just a single look. He's considered to be the the first ever Huntsman - if you believe the legends, of course." Ruby leaned back, putting her arms behind her, and smiled. "As a kid I knew I wanted to grow up to become a Huntsman just like him."

"Ruby, you know it's 'Huntress' for girls, right." Jaune laughed.

She frowned. "Of course! That's what I meant. I've always wanted to be a Huntress. Ever since I was a little girl." An uncertain silence followed. Ruby didn't want to meet his eyes.

But she felt his deep blue eyes investigating her anyway.

"Anyway," Ruby continued, hoping Jaune wouldn't read into that. "I wish he were real."

Jaune smirked, breaking the tension. "Why, so you could marry him?"

Ruby snorted. "Peh. Nah. There'd be a line up!"

"A line up?"

"Yeah, he'd have a ton of fans," she smiled wryly.

"But he's not even a real person..."

"He's got nice eyes though."

Jaune frowned. "My mom says it's bad luck to marry someone with the same eye colour. Although come to think, maybe she made that up; my parents both have blue eyes."

Ruby sighed wistfully. "Dude, I think if I got married to him I would not consider myself unlucky."

"Yeah, heh." Jaune scrolled over some other characters, into the red section. "'Carmine.' Who's she? She's kinda hot. I'd marry her!"

Ruby looked up at the screen. "Uhh, Jaune..."

Jaune's eyes widened. He looked at Ruby, then back to the screen. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't quite figure out what to say.

Ruby was silent for a few seconds. Then they both burst out laughing. Ruby rolled off the couch onto the floor, laughing so hard.

"Jaune, oh my gosh. That's-"

"No way." Jaune exclaimed. "I mean, I knew she was famous but I guess I didn't realize..." he trailed off, blushing now. "I mean, that is, that is who I think it is right?"

"Yep! That's Pyrrha."

Jaune looked at his teammate, who was on the screen, striking a dramatic pose with her javelin and shield. The text said they were called "Mido" and "Aqua," parodying Pyrrha's similarly-named weapons.

Jaune grinned wolfishly. "I've always wanted to try using these." He hit the _select_ button on his controller and the match began.

* * *

After losing to Ruby six to one (she went easy on him for the first match), Jaune put down the controller. "Okay, I think that's it, there's no way I can beat you."

Ruby huffed. "Lame."

Jaune glanced up at the clock. _2 AM_. "I should go sleep. I've got to practice with my team tomorrow."

Ruby frowned. "How's that going?"

"Practice? Hmm, okay I guess. I mean," Jaune added after seeing Ruby's pointed stare, "I guess I still have a ways to go."

Ruby smiled and gave him a soft punch on the shoulder. "You'll get there, Jaune."

They sat there in silence for a minute. It had started to rain moderately, and the sound of the rain against the window was strangely comforting in the night time. The room was dark, their faces lit up by their game on the screen in front of them. Jaune lay back, resting his head against the foot of the couch behind him. He suddenly looked so tired. His eyes wandered slowly about the room, finally meeting his friend's.

"Ruby I'm... I'm not really a fighter."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been practicing so much but," Jaune bit his lip. "But I'm no match. I can't keep up with my teammates; they can do incredible things. Those special moves Pyrrha has in _Huntsman_? They're nothing compared to what she can do in real life. And I've got nothing." A tear started to form in Jaune's eye as his voice broke.

Ruby felt uncomfortable and looked away. She didn't really know how to handle these sort of situations; she wasn't very good at expressing emotions. She had to put up with these kinds of close, open conversations with her teammates, but not from Jaune. Jaune was her buddy, her neighbour, somebody she joked around with and sometimes went to for advice. Somebody she played videogames with. But she didn't know how to console him.

"Uh, well," she said, trying to avoid eye contact. "I mean, it's not really Pyrhha in the game, her semblance is polarity and Carmine's semblance is fire. I'm pretty sure the game designers don't even know what Pyrrha's semblance is, it's not very well-known." She glanced at Jaune. Jaune didn't look very comforted by this. "Uh, I think they just thought it was fire because, you know, her name sounds kind of... like fire..." she trailed off.

Jaune sat up. "It's okay, thanks for trying Ruby."

Ruby got desperate. "Okay forget the game! Look. Your teammates have all spent a long time honing their skills so of course they're really good. They know their limits and strengths through and through. They have their own unique fighting style, just like those game characters. And, uh, you can be like one of them too, but right now you don't have anything that makes you special."

Ruby gulped. She regretted what she said as soon as she said it. Jaune opened his mouth to cut Ruby off, but she kept going. "What I mean is, you just haven't found yourself yet."

Jaune sighed. "I know I haven't discovered my semblance yet, but-"

"Not your semblance, doofus. You just haven't figured out your own strengths yet. Look at Pyrrha; she knew from a young age she had a strong arm and could throw. So she took up javelin as a child and branched out from there."

Her friend looked puzzled. "How did you know that?" he asked

"I had to do a project on her at Signal... I read her biography." Ruby blushed.

"She has a biography?"

"Yeah, but it's terrible, actually now that I've gotten to know her I don't think anything in it was very accurate."

"Oh..." Jaune shook his head, "she's really a celebrity isn't she. Wow. How could I possibly compete with that?"

Ruby jumped up and started pacing. "Okay forget her for a moment. Look at Ren, he does all that meditation stuff, right?"

Jaune nodded. "At the worst times too, it's like, one minute I'm talking to him about Weiss and the next minute his eyes are closed and he's in the lotus position and he's a a complete brick wall. I think he thinks I won't notice because he's quiet anyway, but it's pretty obvious he's just not interested in -"

"Why were you talking to Ren about Weiss?" Ruby asked, quizically.

"Ahh! Forget that" Jaune blushed. "We were talking about somebody else. I think."

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Okay... Well anyway, whenever I've seen him meditating, he looks very calm and focussed. Sometimes he does it up on the big tree in the quad, resting on a branch. He never opens his eyes. Even when a gust of wind comes along, he can stay so still it's like the wind passes right through him. You have to be more like him, Jaune."

Jaune looked confused. Ruby wasn't doing a good job of this. "You're saying I need better balance?"

Ruby threw her hands up. "No! Well, probably that too. Why does he meditate?"

"Because he's sleepy?" Jaune asked.

"Doofus. He meditates to keep in touch with himself."

"But what does that have to do with fighting?"

Ruby groaned. "He knows himself so well, he can control his body perfectly. His body and mind do not distract him, so he's free to listen and react to the world around him. Like when he's up in the tree, he can counterbalance against the wind in exactly the right way. Or when he's in a fight, he can sense his enemy is there even when he can't see it."

"How do you know all this about Ren anyway?" Jaune asked.

Ruby stopped pacing and looked down at the carpeted floor sheepishly. "I've been taking meditation lessons with him."

"You? You've been doing meditation?" Jaune laughed. "It's hard to imagine. You've got to be the noisiest, most talkative person I know! Other than Nora of course." Jaune looked thoughtful. "Actually you have been quieter lately, is that Ren's doing?"

"I guess," Ruby looked unsure. "Anyway, you just have to get to know yourself a little better. You'll see. You'll find out Jaune Arc is a nice guy." She started pacing again, but then Jaune stood up and stopped her.

"Thanks. That's kind of you. But honestly, I just need more practice. I'll catch up eventually." Jaune breathed out. "Eventually."

Suddenly, she grinned and jumped up and down. "Alright, let's practice then!"

Jaune rolled his eyes. "No, I think I've had enough _Huntsman_ for one night."

Ruby pushed him. "Not _Huntsman_ , silly. I mean, let's practice for real."

"Huh?"

She smiled mischievously. "You, me, at the quad, by the tree, five minutes from now. Let me go get Crescent Rose and change out of these PJs."

Ruby ran off back to her dorm room. She looked back. Jaune blinked slowly. "You do know it's raining out, right?" she heard Jaune ask quietly.

"So what?" she called back. "It'll be fun!"

* * *

As stealthily as she could, Ruby swiped her scroll to unlock the door to her room, then pushed it open gently. It didn't creak, so she tip-toed into the dark room. Yang was still out, but the other two seemed to be sleeping. Carefully, she made her way to her bed and opened her drawers. She looked down at Weiss' sleeping form next to her, and listened to her snoring. _Definitely asleep_ , Ruby thought. _There's no way the Ice Queen would allow herself to snore if she were just pretending_.

Ruby furrowed her brow. Why would she have any reason to think her teammates were pretending to sleep, anyway? She looked over at Blake. If anybody, Blake would have woken up at Ruby's intrusion into the room, not Weiss. Blake had heightened faunus senses. And four ears. Ruby briefly wondered if everything sounded twice as loud to her. She suppressed a laugh.

Fumbling about for her clothes, she grabbed what felt like her skirt, corset, cloak, and the rest of her familiar combat attire. Holding them all, she closed her drawers and carefully treaded back to the door. She hadn't even taken a single step when she tripped over Weiss' bag.

 _Foom_ , everything tumbled out of her arms as she fell down onto the floor, landing with a thud.

"What time is it?" Weiss grumbled. "Does that clock say 2 AM? It had better not be 2 AM..."

"It's 2 AM," Blake confirmed, sitting up. "Ruby, where's Yang?"

Ruby groaned and rolled over in the pile of clothes she had just made. "She said something about Coco."

Blake coughed and stretched on her bed. "Do you mean hot chocolate or Coco Adel?"

"Oh. Yeah I think she meant the student, not the drink. She said she was going to see what Coco was up to, I think."

"Any reason why?"

"Hmm... she said 'the night's still young.'"

Blake lay back down. "Huh. This is the third time she's snuck off at night since we started at Beacon."

"It is?" Weiss asked. Ruby didn't remember any other time, either.

Blake laughed softly. "Yeah, you two just sleep through everything, you know that?"

"What else have we slept through?" Weiss asked, curious.

"Well there was that one time that you were asleep when... actually, I promised not to tell."

"What?" Weiss demanded. "Tell me, you can't leave it like that!"

"Sorry, a promise is a promise."

"Ugh, I'm too tired to press you about it now. I will find out, whatever it was."

Ruby gathered up her stuff and headed over to the door.

"Ruby! Are you leaving again? Why don't you sleep?" Weiss asked.

"I'm going to go fight Jaune."

"What? Why? Can't your video games wait until morning?"

"No I mean I'm really going to fight Jaune."

"Well whatever, just don't wake us up when you come back."

"Good luck with that," Blake said. "Nobody gets past me."

Ruby stood there for a few seconds waiting for any more words from her teammates. But they stayed quiet. She was about to leave, but something popped into her head.

"You must never get much rest then," said Ruby. "Maybe you should put in earplugs."

Blake looked terrified at the thought. As terrified as she could be while curled up in a ball on her bed with her eyes closed. "Why would I do that? Somebody could sneak up on me then."

Weiss piped in, "Really she's just sad because they don't make earplugs for people with kitten ears."

Blake rolled over. "Sure, Ice Queen. You go on thinking that."

"And Ruby," Weiss started, "you are going to have make this up to me."

"Make what up to you?" Ruby asked.

"Waking me up at such an ungodly hour. I'll get bags in my eyes. Anyway, on Monday, after the exams, let's go shopping. We can get you some actual clothes. Or a dress for the dance next weekend."

Ruby flushed. The last thing she wanted was to try on frilly dresses. "Not a chance!" she squeaked, and ran out of the dorm room.

* * *

The next place Ruby went was down to the locker rooms in the basement. This is where she kept her sweetheart, Crescent Rose. The room was brightly lit by old-style electric Dust lights. The way they flickered on and off rapidly, just faster than the eye could see, they gave her a headache. She felt a bit dizzy, partly because of the lights but mostly because of the time of night.

She first looked around to make sure nobody was watching, then she firmly shut her eyes and changed out of her pajamas and into her combat attire. It took her a few minutes of fumbling about blindly and tripping over herself. She finally opened her eyes when she had everything on but her corset, so she could do up the laces more quickly.

Opening her locker, she gently pulled out her weapon and ran her hands over it. She loved this thing to death. She fondly remembered her twelfth summer, when she built it with her uncle Qrow. Qrow had told her father, Taiyang, that Ruby had finally found her first love, causing Ruby to blush and try to explain. But her father, fearing for the worst, asked Yang if she'd ever given Ruby "the talk." This prompted Yang to immediately start a quick, condensed version on the spot, but when she realized that Qrow had been referring to Crescent Rose, she changed it into a talk about what kinds of greases, oils, and cleaning fluids would be the best 'protection' for her weapon. Litte Ruby was clueless as to why her family found this so funny. They even started hollering at Yang's perfectly accurate description of lubricating the shaft of the rifle.

Ruby's smile faded as she remembered when Yang and Tai gave her the actual "talk" later on that summer. Learning about those things, the differences between boys and girls, the changes her body was about to go through... she cried for days after that. But she wasn't able to explain to her family why. She couldn't even fully understand it herself. That summer was just a little less joyful after that day than it could have been.

She sighed as she looked down at herself clad in combat apparel. She lazily puffed out her skirt, thinking of how her beautiful her mother looked in the photographs wearing the same outfit. Then she shook her head and nodded. "Jaune."

* * *

"Jaune!" Ruby called down from the tree above her friend. It was a beautiful cherry tree, but since it was autumn it wasn't in bloom.

"Ahh, Ruby, how did you get up there?" Jaune cried. It was cold, and he looked very wet in the rain. His jeans were getting soaked.

She hopped down from her perch, swinging on a branch on the way. "Ren showed me a quick way up."

"Uh-huh... so was your team mad at you for waking them up?

"What makes you think I woke them up?"

"I said before, you are the noisiest person I know other than Nora."

"Oi, I can be quiet when I want to be," Ruby exclaimed. "Quiet as a fox." She struck her best fox-like pose. Jaune had no idea what that was supposed to be.

"R-Right... well my team was sleeping pretty soundly. I mean, they always do."

"Even Ren?" Ruby asked.

"Yep, he sleeps deeper even than Nora."

Ruby's mouth turned slightly sideways. "So much for being alert and tuned into his surroundings, I guess."

Jaune laughed. "Nah, I think he'd wake up if somebody threatening tried to sneak up on him. He was telling me about how he can sense intent in somebody's aura, even when sleeping."

Ruby nodded. "That's our next lesson, actually."

"Sleeping?"

"No, no, aura sensing. He's not sure I'm ready for it, though."

Jaune frowned. "Why not?"

"Oh you know, that being-in-tune-with-yourself stuff I was talking about earlier."

"You seem pretty in-tune with yourself to me, Ruby! You should tell him about how you snuck into your room without waking your teammates. That's impressive! Especially Blake, she seems really alert to me."

"Oh, did I say I didn't wake them up?" Ruby asked. "Nope, I did. I tripped and fell. They both woke up. I mean, Blake was probably awake already, but Weiss gave me a lecture."

"A lecture?"

"Well... Okay, not a lecture. She said she was going to take me clothes shopping."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

Ruby looked uncomfortable. "Eh. I don't really do that stuff."

"No?" Jaune looked her up and down. "You have a nice - what did you call it? - combat skirt. Yeah. You have good fashion sense."

Ruby made a face. "Sure, whatever. At least you won't have to wear a dress to the dance next week. Be glad Weiss isn't taking you shopping."

Jaune chuckled. Then he looked serious. "Hey, um, Ruby. Do you think I have a chance with Weiss?"

Ruby blinked. "A chance?"

"Like. Do you think she'd go out with me to the dance?"

She frowned. "Uhh..." Jaune didn't really seem like he'd be Weiss' type to her. Ruby assumed Weiss was into wealthy, muscular men with good manners and lots of power. Although maybe she only thought that because she assumed the upper class were all into that sort of thing. She didn't really know what Weiss' type was, come to think. They'd never talked about boys in all the time they'd spent at Beacon.

Jaune looked hopeful.

"Sure!" Ruby said, not totally convinced.

"Oh, great," said Jaune, relieved. "Except... I don't really know how to ask a girl out."

"You've never asked someone out before?" said Ruby, surprised. She smiled, trying to picture it happening.

"Not exactly, no. But I thought, well," Jaune paused. "I thought maybe, since you're a girl, you'd know what -"

"No." Ruby cut him off. Her smile faded instantly. "I wouldn't. Sorry."

"Really?" Jaune asked, stunned. "No advice at all? I thought all girls would -"

Ruby threw her hands up in the air. "Stop that!" she screamed.

"Stop what?"

"Saying... ugh. Let's just fight, okay?"

"W-Wait, I want to know what I said that offended you first. Is it because we're talking about your partner?"

Ruby growled. "Okay, honestly, really, could you just not talk to me like I'm..." she put her hand to her head, trying to figure out what she wanted to say. "Look, I'm your friend, right?" Jaune nodded. "Your buddy, yeah?" Jaune nodded again. "Great, so let's just leave it at that. I like 'friend.' I like 'buddy.'"

"Woah, wait up a minute Ruby. It's not like I'm asking _you_ out. We're just friends." He gulped as Ruby approached him menacingly, "Just friends, nothing more than that."

Ruby shoved him against the tree. Not hard. Just a little angry. "Then keep treating me like that."

"Am I not?" Jaune asked, confused. He was shivering a little.

"You're treating me like I'm a, I'm a..." Ruby backed off from him. "Like I'm a _girl_."

"But you are a girl."

"That's not what I meant, I mean. You know how you and Ren are buddies?"

"Kind of. Well, really, I'm more buddy-buddy with Nora actually."

Ruby shook her head. "Okay, whatever. All I mean is, just treat me like any of your other friends. Don't treat me differently because of... _that_ ," she snarled.

"I don't! Ruby I'm sorry, I honestly don't know why you're so angry at me. Please, tell me what I did wrong," Jaune pleaded.

Ruby put her hand to her head. She wasn't even sure what had triggered the reaction. But she'd been feeling this way a lot lately; sometimes, people would say something innocuous and it made her think of something she found unpleasant.

"Just, don't ask me about girl stuff, okay? Like clothes and things. Or the lowdown or whatever on how to ask one out."

"Uh, okay, sure. Whatever you say, Ruby!" Jaune said shakily. He smiled weakly. "Maybe we should just go in? I'm sorry I upset you."

"I'm fine!" Ruby shouted. But she wasn't fine. She closed her eyes and tried to recall what Ren had taught her about regaining control of herself. She tried to summon the emptiness within her, as he'd instructed. But she just felt worried. She was anxious that Jaune saw her differently just because of the way she was. She felt like _everybody_ did, and there was nothing she could do about it.

It was completely unreasonable, of course. She knew there was nothing _wrong_ with her, really. She'd been told in school countless times; it doesn't matter how your body is shaped, it's your personality that makes you who you are. No honest person would ever judge you for the way you looked.

But that didn't seem to apply to the faunus, did it? The same teachers who taught that boys and girls were created equal also said terrible things about the faunus, that they're filthy and good for nothing and should be put in labour camps. Her family had always told her not to listen to what they said about the faunus in school. But how could she accept one of these as true and one as false?

Ruby felt her blood start to boil, but she tried to force herself to calm down and think. _Don't get distracted_ , came Ren's voice. _Find yourself. Hold onto yourself._

Ruby shook her head. She could hear Jaune saying something but she ignored it, turning her senses inward, looking for herself.

She tried to picture herself. But she couldn't. So she thought of her mother. Those beautiful eyes. She thought of her friends. Blake. Reading. Weiss. _Shopping._

That thought. That thought was unpleasant. Her instinct was to shy away, but she remembered Ren's advice and dug into it instead. Why was shopping for dresses for the dance so bad? Weiss, Blake, and even Yang all were planning on wearing dresses and they had no problem with it. They were looking forward to it even. Why wasn't she? Why was she the only one in the world who just didn't-

 _-fit into her skin-_

She felt warm. Jaune had his arms around her. It was raining. She still hadn't found herself. There were tears on her face. She wiped them off. She didn't want Jaune to see.

She snapped open her eyes and pushed him away and twirled her scythe. Jaune put on a brave face.

"Let's fight."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Ruby Rose stared viciously into Jaune Arc's eyes, not breaking eye contact. This was not just a friendly competition; it a show of strength; a display of dominance. They both knew whoever emerged victorious would be forever the superior of the two.

Their bodies were low to the ground, their arms locked. It was their first night at Beacon, and Ruby had challenged Jaune to an arm wrestling competition.

They'd been on the ballroom floor like this for a full minute already. Jaune was breaking a sweat; he hadn't thought this quirky little girl would be so strong.

"You have a lot of muscle," Jaune's breath caught on his words, "for such," he continued, grunting, "a small..." he gave up on speaking as his arm veered perilously toward the right. His brow furrowed as he poured all of his strength into pushing back on Ruby.

Ruby grinned like a wild animal. Jaune could see it in her eyes; she knew she'd win this. He was nothing more than her prey.

"Of course. Crescent Rose may look gentle, but it takes a well-toned body like mine to keep her still when she bucks," she gloated.

Jaune held his breath. His arm was starting to shake. Ruby was smiling. She was made of granite.

"But you're really strong, too!" she said cheerily. "That sword must be a lot to swing around. You clearly practise a lot."

Jaune frowned in concentration. "Not really," he said. His voice quivered from the exertion.

"You don't practise?" Ruby asked, surprised. Her eyes widened just a sliver.

If he hadn't been staring so intently at her eyes, he wouldn't have noticed it. If he hadn't been watching her eyes, he would have been mentally about kicking himself about letting slip that he didn't practice.

But they had had their eyes locked on each other. And he'd seen it.

She was bluffing.

"Of course I don't practise," he smiled. "Why would I need to practise given how many Ursai I take down on a daily basis."

"Uh-huh," Ruby said, a coat of sarcasm over a hint of fear.

He hadn't noticed it earlier, since his harms were shaking, but her arms were shaking too, from the stress.

"And besides," he said, his confidence renewed, "men naturally have stronger muscles than women. Especially men of the Arc family." He winked.

Ruby's arm slipped just a bit.

"W-What? That's not true. I've never heard that before," she said quickly.

Jaune gave her a smug look. He was enjoying this. He'd pushed her past the center point and she was clearly struggling now.

"Well, um," Ruby coughed, and then her eyes narrowed. "In any case, I'm just toying with you," she said. She was clearly making a last-ditch attempt to swing the battle. "I could out-wrestle you any day of the week. Because," she said, pausing.

"Because?" Jaune asked.

"Because..." she paused again. " _I_ ," her grip tightened, " _drink_ ," she groaned in effort, " _milk_."

Jaune blinked in surprise. That was unexpected.

He considered this proclamation for all of a second. There was fury in her eyes, but she clearly getting tired. He knew he had her. The only question was, should he draw this out or be kind and finish her off now?

Jaune chose to be kind. He smiled.

"So do I."

Ruby gasped. It was all he needed to say. In seconds, he pushed her arm down to just inches above his sleeping bag. There, it hovered for a few seconds. But then it was over. He won.

They both collapsed in exhaustion.

 _Wow_ , Jaune thought. His heart was pumping. _That was incredible._

They lay there, not talking for a few minutes. They looked like exhausted and exhilarated, like they'd just laid a Death Stalker to the ground.

Then a shadow was cast over both of them.

"What's this?" came a voice, wet with scorn. "The red devil and vomit boy?"

"Oh, hey sis!" said Ruby, shakily, but upbeat as always.

Yang Xiao Long stood over them, glaring at Jaune.

"We were just arm-wrestling. Jaune says men are naturally stronger than women. Is that true?" Ruby asked.

Yang snorted. Then she swiftly dropped to the ground and grabbed Jaune's arm.

He stared weakly up into her eyes. "Oh, not again..." he begged.

Ten seconds later, after Yang crushed him brutally at arm-wrestling, he buried his face into the pillow next to him.

"Guess we can consider that resolved, then," Yang smirked.

"No fair!" Jaune said, "I was tired. That was my second match."

"It was my third," Yang said. "See that girl over there, the one doing push-ups next to the cute guy? Anyway that's Nora. Damn, does she ever pack some muscle."

Nora waved at them. Jaune tried to lift his arm to wave back, but he couldn't. So he just cocked his head in acknowledgement.

Then he deflated into his pillow again.

"Hey, cheer up, friend," said Ruby, warmly. "It's basically impossible to beat Yang at arm-wrestling. Have you seen her weapon yet?"

He shook his head.

"Hmm," she hummed. "She basically fights with shotguns strapped to her arms. Those things have a real kick to them. They're my second greatest creation, after Crescent Rose of course."

Yang laughed and sat up, ruffling her sister's hair affectionately. "Actually sis, I was thinking recently, and I've decided I don't need Ember Celica anymore."

"You don't?" Ruby stared up at her sister, her eyes quivering.

"Nope, my arms are guns already," she said, flexing her arm into an L-shape.

Ruby stuck her tongue out at her sister.

He was making some weird friends at Beacon, that's for sure.

He smiled, his cheeks warm. _Friend._ That's what Ruby had called him.

"Hey that was fun," said Ruby, turning back to face him. "We should do that again sometime! Maybe we can let Crescent Rose and Croa, Cromora..." she paused, trying to remember the name. "We can let Crescent Rose and your sword into the fun next time!"

"Crocea Mors," Jaune offered. Then he groaned on the inside. Arm-wrestling was one thing, but sparring with weapons? He looked up at her from his pillow. That girl wielded a _scythe that was also a gun_. How would that ever be a fair fight?

"Careful," said Yang. "She may have the appearance of a sweet little girl, but in combat this girl is a hurricane. A force of nature. A goddess."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yang!" she sighed. "Normal girl, with normal knees, remember?" She stuck her tongue out again, a distant expression complicating her face.

Yang gave her sister a hug. "Uh-huh, yup." She turned to Jaune. _You're screwed_ , she mouthed. She leaped up, hoisting her sister to a standing position.

"I'll get my revenge on you yet, Mr. Arc!" Ruby laughed as she was dragged away.

Jaune smiled. Ruby was definitely the weirdest girl he'd ever met, weirder than any of his seven sisters.

He was sure this was going to be a good year.

* * *

"Let's fight," said Ruby. She could feel a hint of weakness in her voice, and it bothered her. She needed to get focussed; her mind was still reeling from... from what exactly? She breathed out deeply. Something had been eating at her these past few weeks. She felt that her normal, chipper nature was becoming more and more fake the longer she spent at Beacon.

But why? This was exactly the school she'd always dreamed of going to. Since she was little, she pictured herself graduating, gaining her Hunting licence just like her dad, becoming a Huntress just like her mom.

But now that picture was starting to come apart at the edges. She was losing track of what it was she wanted to be, and it bothered her greatly. Becoming a Huntress was something that she had always wanted, down to the core. But it was becoming increasingly apparent to her that something about that image just didn't fit her. So she needed to dig into it. She needed to prove to herself that the Hunt was still her calling.

The regular spars in class, they just weren't satisfying enough. They were too controlled, too formal, not like hunting in the wild.

And here she was with Jaune, in the wind and the rain. It was starting to rain so thick now, she could barely even see the school buildings around them. Only the few trees swaying and the knoll in this fenced-off area called the quad. It wasn't the undergrowth of the isle of Patch where she'd grown up, but just for moment she felt like she was at home.

In the wild.

Silver eyes stared into blue eyes. He needed practice, she needed to hunt. She waited for his assent.

It was a few uncertain and electrifying seconds before he nodded, and she waited for the familiar feeling of hunting prey to well up inside her. But it didn't come. And then they were fighting, and it felt so empty to her.

She struck him, once, twice. He blocked the first one but not the second. He flailed with his sword, but it was pathetic, he was so slow. She thought briefly that she'd hurt him, but she could feel his aura taking the hits.

She kept up the fight, wondering when she would feel the fire well up within her. But it still didn't come. So she went looking for it inside her.

Ren's lessons in introspection had been a great help with thinking things through. With each session, she peeled away another layer of the mystery in her head. But she was finding now that the more she dug into her soul, the more she couldn't stop thinking about it. It was always in the back of her mind now, and had been keeping her up at night, even.

There was something wrong with her, she knew that. For years, even, she had felt this discomfort growing. She wondered if it was -

She blinked. Jaune was under her now, helpless. She had Crescent Rose raised high above her, about to strike. She wasn't even paying attention to the fight. His eyes didn't show any fear though, not yet. He was tough. She brought the scythe down on him, and before it even landed she was again wrapped in the petals of her mind, searching for something she would never find.

The fight went on for some time in the background. It just wasn't interesting enough to catch the attention of the dormant Huntress that lay within her.

 _Whatever_ , she thought, frustrated. _This fight is for Jaune as much as it is for me_. Even if she couldn't find herself, maybe she could help him.

"You're still not playing to your strengths, Jaune!" she said. He had put some distance between the two of them, but he'd clearly forgotten that Crescent Rose was more than just a close-combat weapon.

She shook her head. He just had no sense of combat. The way he fought, she recognized moves Pyrrha used sometimes. But it didn't have any of Pyrrha's ingenuity, he was just echoing his mentor. He couldn't do anything original, anything unexpected. Even in _Huntsman_ he seemed uninspired. He had yet to find his own style.

She was determined to help him.

"Find yourself," she ordered. She fired her rifle at him and leapt him, landing hard on his shield and knocking it out of his hands. She saw fear in his eyes. He scrambled away.

"Stop running," she said. "You can beat me."

"How?" he pleaded. He looked so helpless and lost.

She kind of knew the feeling.

"I don't know," she said sadly. "You just have to figure that out yourself."

He was pressed against the tree now. There was nowhere he could run. She charged at him. This would be the end of the fight. She sighed on the inside. She hadn't gotten the hunt she was hoping for.

But the fear in Jaune's eyes turned into something else as she ran at him. A hint of a smile on his lips.

And then he did something unexpected.

The Huntress finally took notice of the combat.

* * *

But the knight had been paying attention since the beginning.

"Let's fight," said Ruby.

It was raining. They were in the quad. Jaune had just seen Ruby cry, and he didn't know why. He wanted to talk to her about it, not fight her. But the look in her eyes told him that this fight was going to happen no matter what.

So here he was, trying to be brave for her. And he did want to fight, too. He'd practised plenty with Pyrrha, but he hadn't had any real sparring practice against anyone else yet.

Silver eyes stared into his blue eyes. He nodded.

And he had hardly any time to react. In an instant she lept at him with her scythe, bringing it down hard. Just at the last moment he unfurled Crocea Mors' shield part. _Foom_. The force with which it deployed always surprised him. Crescent Rose deflected off it with a resounding ring.

But Jaune hadn't planned more than a step ahead. The impulse from the collision caused him to lose his balance, and he stepped backward, tripping up over the roots of the tree beside them. He looked down at his feet to try to regain his footing.

That was a mistake, and he realised it instantly. It had only been a split second, but Ruby had already recovered from the first strike, and he'd given her an opening. _Wham_ , the second blow came hard and fast. He pulled his aura up just in time, but his shirt was still torn on the side by Ruby's blade. She was serious.

His sword was now out to his side, held there by Crescent Rose's shaft, leaving him open for more punishment. He tried to disengage, circling his sword around to a more favourable position on the other side of Ruby's scythe, but she was too fast for him. She dashed his sword to the side and then pushed forward, knocking him back with the blunt side of the scythe blade.

He fell backward and quickly tried to regain his stance as Ruby came at him again, lunging, but he slipped sideways on the wet grass and fell.

Fortunately for him, falling prone clearly wasn't something Ruby had expected. She had enough momentum that she couldn't stop. Jaune took the opportunity, swiping at her with Crocea Mors. But from his position on the ground, he just didn't have enough leverage to pull off a well-executed attack. Ruby twisted and dodged it, her cape spinning around her.

In an instant, Ruby had solid footing again. She brought Crescent Rose down quickly on him, but he rolled out of the way. For just a second, it stuck into the ground. He took the opportunity to jump back up, putting some distance between the two.

This was another mistake. She had a gun.

"You're still not playing to your strengths, Jaune!" Then she leveled the barrel of the rifle at him.

He gave her a desperate look. He was far outclassed here.

"Find yourself," she said. Then she fired the rifle.

Jaune's aura took the bulk of it, but he had the air knocked out of him. He was flung backward and landed on the ground, again prone. The world spun. His entire mind focussed on getting a just breath of air, but his lungs wouldn't open. He couldn't think of anything but breathing.

He saw Ruby twirl through the air again, Crescent Rose now a blur. Rose petals showered from her cape behind her as she spun, blocking out the light of the moon.

Yang was right, she was a hurricane.

There really was nothing he could do. He had no amazing, transforming, incredible weapon like the rest of them. He held Crocea Mors up weakly to block the attack, but he knew he couldn't win this fight with such a boring sword and shield. And he was still winded. He needed to get a breath in so he could just think or he'd lose this fight for sure.

He took cover under his shield just as Ruby landed on him. But it was a just short-term delaying tactic. Ruby's spinning blade yanked the shield out of his grasp. It flung away and slammed into the tree, where it packed itself back together into its sheath form.

Ruby's eyes were fierce and there was fire behind them. But she was repelled for a second, and that gave him just enough time to - finally - get a breath of air.

Time slowed down as oxygen flooded back into his bloodstream. Ruby was coming at him again. He had to think of something.

 _Find yourself_.

What could he do? He didn't even know what his semblance was. He didn't have Ruby's speed to dodge the incoming attack, or Pyrrha's magnetism to deflect it, or Blake's shadow form to take the hit for him. He could feel his aura running low. He could take maybe one more hit before he'd be forced to yield.

 _What makes you special?_ Jaune thought. _Why has Ozpin not kicked you out yet?_ Ozpin seemed to think he'd be a good leader for his team. But being a leader meant nothing without teammates to help him.

Ruby's blade came at him again, from the side. With as much force as he could muster, he parried it with Crocea Mors. He needed more time to think. He kicked at Ruby's legs, trying to trip her. She quickly jumped over his kick, but it gave him enough leeway to scramble back toward his shield a few yards away.

"Stop running," Ruby said, softly. He could barely hear her over the rain. "You can beat me," she said, louder.

"How?" Jaune asked.

"I don't know," she shook her head. "You just have to figure that out yourself." She brought Crescent Rose up in front of her again, preparing to rush at him.

Jaune wanted to give up then and there. Ruby was wrong. He couldn't win this, she was far too strong.

But she wasn't. Jaune had beaten her before. Weeks ago, arm-wrestling.

It didn't matter. They weren't lying on the floor of the ballroom trying to force the other to submit using brute force. This was the real battlefield. Ruby could make full use of her strengths; her speed, her agility, her weapon. Ruby was a skilled Huntress already. She'd said taken down Grimm before.

What strengths did he have? Even if Ozpin were right about him being a good leader, that wasn't a feat of physical strength. That wasn't something he could use in a fight. It was mental strength.

He was getting frustrated; he just couldn't think fast enough. Ruby was coming at him now. His back was up against the tree now. His shield was lying at his feet, not in his arms. What could he do? The only useful combat experience he had was with Pyrrha. What would she tell him in this situation?

He thought harder. Ruby was only a few feet away. Pyrrha would tell him to improve his stance, to pay attention to his opponent's moves. She'd tell him exactly the right way to counter Ruby in this particular setting, because Pyrrha had faced this exact situation before in some tournament she was in.

He thought harder. Had Pyrrha been in this situation?

He thought harder. This wasn't a tournament setting. It was raining, at night, he had his back to a tree, this wasn't a clean fight. Pyrrha's expertise in battle came almost exclusively from tournaments. She wouldn't know how to advise him here.

He thought harder. So if nothing Pyrrha would say would be helpful... then what wouldn't Pyrrha say?

He thought _harder_. Pyrrha would never tell him to play dirty.

He almost grinned.

All he had was a sword in his hand and a folded-up shield at his feet and the trunk of a cherry tree at his back. She had a sniper rifle scythe, and she was in the air, lunging at him. It seemed she had the upper hand in every way. There was only one thing he could do. He was going to be creative.

Pyrrha would tell him to block the attack, or to dodge it, or to counterattack. He would do neither.

A fraction of a second before Ruby landed her blow, as Ruby was swinging her scythe at him, he used his foot to kick up Crocea Mors' shield part into the air between them. It rotated through the air, losing all its vertical momentum just as it was level with the incoming scythe blade.

As he was raising his knee he stole a glance at those silver eyes, now only inches away; he saw a hint of apprehension; she still didn't know what he was planning. He also saw something else. Something hungry.

And then his knee collided with the release mechanism on Crocea Mors.

* * *

Ruby, Jaune, the swaying cherry tree, the rain, Crocea Mors, and Crescent Rose all froze for a moment as everything collided at once. Metal, metal, rose petals, and splintering bark.

Ruby felt her eyes go wide. Jaune had just done something original.

Crescent Rose was now pinned by the shield, which had unfurled with such impulse that it lodged both of them part-way into the trunk of the cherry tree. Only her scythe's shaft, handle, and part of the blade on the other side were sticking out, along with two-thirds of one-half of Crocea Mors. The tree groaned.

Ruby's momentum flipped her over the handle and launched her forward into the air, past Jaune. She cursed physics. Remembering to roll at the last second, she hit the ground with some amount of grace.

She whipped her head back; Jaune had his sword now, and she only had her bare fists.

She grinned. This was a _hunt_.

* * *

Jaune yelled in success, and charged at Ruby, who was now on her knees. The fight had finally turned his way.

"Take this!" he announced, excited, swinging his sword down at her. But she was still agile; she rolled under his feet at the last second, knocking him over.

He looked up from where he'd landed face-first into the grimy roots of the tree, seeing Ruby reaching for her scythe jammed into the trunk. Getting up, he ran at her again, flailing the half of Crocea Mors that he still had.

Meeting his eyes uneasily, Ruby gripped the trigger of Crescent Rose and pulled it. Since the gun's barrel was lodged firmly into the tree, the blast caused the tree to quiver. She reached over and hit the mechanism on Crocea Mors; it retracted and dropped down to the ground, rolling. She fired again, once, twice, trying to free her weapon; Jaune saw bark splintering from the opposite end of the tree.

He slammed into her, knocking her away from her weapon. They landed on the grass, which was now muddy from the rain. She was pinned under him.

"You doofus," Jaune grinned, flinging back at her the name she called him sometimes. "Be careful -" he was interrupted as Ruby maneuvered her elbow into Jaune's throat. He shoved his hand into her face.

"Be careful about -" he grunted out. They were pushing their limbs into at each other with brute force. Just like arm wrestling on the floor of the ballroom, only a thousand times more intense.

Ruby had almost broken free, her eyes fixed on Crescent Rose. He knew she was going just going to back and blast away at the tree until her gun came loose. Then he'd be back at square one.

"Be careful about wrecking Ren's favourite tree!" he shouted at her. She winced, then he saw understanding dawn on her.

Just a minute ago he had been lost, and now he had fit everything together perfectly. He'd gotten her weapon out of her hands, and in order to get it back in any sort of timely manner, she'd have to destroy the tree ripping it out.

Ruby was a loyal friend. She wouldn't let Ren's meditation spot come to harm.

"That's a _dirty_ trick!" she complained, and rolled free of him. But he saw she was impressed. He grabbed her again as she was standing up, and they tumbled along the ground together.

"What's wrong? Didn't you know Jaune Arc is the most skilled fighter in the land?" he gloated, grinning. They were covered in mud and it wasn't even clear who had who pinned anymore.

She was smiling too, now. "Of course," she said, "that's why he'd never -" she grunted, trying to free her leg from under Jaune's, "- let somebody else lay a finger on his -" Jaune frowned "- favourite sword."

Jaune gasped. In their melee he'd lost track of Crocea Mors' blade. He looked around, only to realize it was in Ruby's hand underneath him.

 _Oh, damn_. Ruby was grinning like a wild animal.

Here was the situation: her thighs were pinned under his legs, but had his right arm pinned under her back and his left pinned with her right. In her left she had Crocea Mors, but her hand was crushed by the weight of his shoulders. They were a tangled mess.

But Jaune was still happier with this situation than how it had been before. The only time he'd ever beaten Ruby before was in a show of brute strength. He was far from being at the advantage, but at least it was roughly even.

Until Ruby headbutted him. _Wham._

"Augh!" he yelled, as Ruby laughed gleefully. His head was aching and Ruby took the opportunity to wriggle free. She rolled to the side and swiftly leapt to her feet. Jaune rose slowly, staggering.

She looked up and down Crocea Mors appraisingly, nodding her head. "Has some nice weight to it," she said, spinning it around a few times.

He growled. He had no weapon, no shield; his sword was in his opponent's hands. _His_ sword. He may not have had the bizarre intimate relationship with his weapon that Ruby had with hers, but he was still proud to wield his ancestor's blade, and it pained him to see it being flung about so awkwardly by someone else. There was something particularly strange about the way she was holding it, too.

"You're left-handed," he realized.

"Yep! Got a problem with that?" Ruby stuck her tongue out at him, and started walking toward him slowly.

"No, no," he raised his hands defensively. "It's just... that means I didn't really beat you, did I?"

She lowered her head. "Didn't beat me? What do you mean?"

"The first night we were here at Beacon."

She hummed, but not pausing her steady advance. "Nah."

* * *

Ruby stalked toward her prey, savouring the feeling. She could feel the Huntress within her. Jaune was giving her a very interesting fight.

"Nah," she repeated. "You beat me."

Her mind was ablaze. She could feel the gears in her mind turning, grinding, just like the ones in Crescent Rose's body. She hadn't expected Jaune to pull such an unexpected move earlier, disarming her, but he was quickly proving to be a clever opponent. She wondered what he would do now that she had Crocea Mors in her hands.

She swung at him, and he dodged out of the way. She swung again; another expert dodge. He seemed much more agile now, but most likely it was just that she had an unfamiliar weapon in hand. For once, she was the clumsy fighter. _Interesting_ , she grinned.

Crocea Mors was quite light. It had none of the modifications she was used to on Crescent Rose weighing it down. And it wasn't as long, meaning it was easier to swing due to its reduced moment of inertia, but it also just wasn't quite as satisfying. But she figured it could probably thrust nicely.

So, imitating what she'd seen in Weiss' swordplay, she lunged, pushing back with her right foot to propel her body forward. She struck his breastplate dead-on. He stumbled backward, toward the cherry tree, but it just didn't have the effect she wanted.

She nodded. Crocea Mors didn't want her. But that was okay, she would win with her bare hands if she had to. She was the dominant one.

Her prey was backing away from her now, at the same rate she advanced. The gears were turning in her mind, but she still didn't get it. There was still something off. The Huntress inside her was unsure.

Hunting felt so good.

And yet the Huntress within her didn't belong.

Ruby grated her teeth. "What is wrong with me?" she muttered.

"Huh?" Jaune asked.

For a second she forgot herself. "Oh, n-nothing," she stammered. Jaune wouldn't understand what she was feeling. She didn't even know what she was feeling.

But Jaune took the opening. _Wham_ , he slammed into her chest, and suddenly she was pinned against a tree. The same tree. She eyed Crescent Rose's handle sticking out next to her to the left, the blade emerging from the tree just to her right. This was a delicate spot to be in.

* * *

Jaune was using all four of his limbs to keep her still, so there weren't many options he had. He could try to wrestle Crocea Mors back out of her hand, or...

He closed his eyes in preparation. _Time to give her a taste of her own medicine_. He smashed his head down hard against hers.

" _Auugh!_ " he yelled again. "Oh _damn_ that hurt. How on Remnant do you manage to do that? You must have a head made of steel."

Ruby laughed. "My sister always tells me I'm thick-headed."

He groaned. But he still had her pressed against the tree. His head was now in a more favourable position, so she couldn't try the same trick twice. His right arm was bent, his elbow pushing into her chest in a way that Pyrrha had once done to decapacitate him while sparring.

Ruby squirmed under him uncomfortably, trying to get free. Jaune realized he must have been crushing her breasts, and he quickly repositioned his arms.

She swiftly took advantage of this brief instant of freedom and flipped him around so that now he was against the tree.

"You idiot," she said, "you had me! Why did you hold back?"

Jaune bit his lip. "I thought I was hurting you," glancing down at her cloak.

She gave him a disbelieving look. "Seriously? If you're afraid to hurt me then _what's the point of fighting_."

His eyebrows raised. "I'm sorry! It's just -"

"No," she said, slamming her elbow up into his jaw. "This is exactly what I was saying earlier. Even in the battlefield you just can't get over the fact," Jaune tried to slip loose but she pinned him down again, "that I'm a _girl_."

He opened his mouth to defend himself but then stopped.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

She sighed. "It's okay. Just, please, you don't have to be your gentlemanly, lady-killer, knightly self around me."

He nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Anyway, seeing as I've won the fight, I would -"

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "It's not over yet."

"Oh yeah?" she smirked. "I think you underestimated me."

"Underestimated you?"

"Yeah. About Ren's meditation spot."

"About Ren's...?"

"Yep." Her lip curled up into a half-smile.

Jaune's face went rigid as he realized where he was.

Lodged between a Huntress and her weapon.

* * *

It was raining. But it was starting to let up. The sun would be up in a few hours. Ren's favourite cherry tree, however, would not.

They were both bruised and tired. Ruby had finished him off by launching Crescent Rose out from behind him. He would have had his back broken if not for his aura. But cherry trees did not have auras.

Glynda Goodwitch was, of course furious. School policy prohibited unregistered sparring between students. It also prohibited vandalism. It _definitely_ prohibited chopping down the trees on campus.

"I don't understand," Ruby said. "Can't you just put it back together like you always do?" She looked hopefully at the crop she held like a wand.

"No." Glynda said, strictly. "A living thing is different from an inanimate object like a chair or a statue or a weapon." Ruby clutched her treasured Crescent Rose defensively. "No simple reversal of entropy could ever recover a soul or repair the building blocks of life."

Jaune scratched his head. "Well, at least it was just a tree, right? It wasn't like we killed a person."

"And thank luck for that." Glynda sighed. "Ozpin himself planted that tree in memory of... an old friend. He will not be thrilled to find out." She suddenly looked very sad.

Jaune and Ruby fell silent.

"Which is why you can explain it to him yourself. Tomorrow. After you clean this mess up."

Jaune and Ruby exchanged glances.

"How will we -" Ruby began.

"And after you clean yourselves up."

"But it's a _tree_ , what can we -" Ruby tried to finish.

"And you can report to my office every day of the week at five. Starting Tuesday."

"But how do we clean up a -"

"For a _month_." Glynda crossed her arms. "As for the tree... you are Huntsman and Huntress in training. The best and brightest. Figure something out."

She turned and marched back into the school.

Ruby sighed. Jaune sat down. They turned and looked at the battered carcass of the tree.

"Do you think we could just kind of... prop it up somewhere?" Jaune asked. "Would anybody notice the difference?"

Ruby shook her head. "I think I know where we can take it."

* * *

Half an hour later, they had managed to drag it out to the front of the school. Ruby smiled, looking at the city ahead of them, warming up in the twilight.

"She said Ozpin had planted this," Ruby mused. "It's a big tree."

"Yeah?" Jaune didn't see where she was going.

"He must be really old."

Jaune shrugged. He really had no idea how long it took trees to grow.

"Well. I'm sure he won't mind what we're doing with it now," Jaune decided.

They stared over the edge of the cliffs in front of them. It was a serene setting, the gloaming light lent a nice purple hue to the water beneath them.

They rolled it off.

A few seconds passed.

It splashed.

They turned to each other.

"Hey," Juane said.

"Hey?"

"You remembered to check that none of the parts of any of our weapons were still lodged in there right?"

Ruby hummed thoughtfully.

"Guess we'll find out."

"Guess so."

Ruby gave the city of Vale one last nod and then turned around.

"I have practice today. I am going to be so tired," Jaune moaned.

Ruby punched his arm, lightly. "I should go find my sister. And beg Blake to help me study. Faunus History on Monday. And I have to... figure some stuff out," she added, rubbing her forehead.

"Oh," said Jaune. "Is Blake good at history?"

"Uh... yeah." Ruby laughed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Okay then."

"See you."

"See you, friend."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

4:20 AM

Jaune tentatively opened the door to his room. He was soaking wet, covered in mud, and dripping everywhere. In four hours he'd be practicing with his team, and he needed to get some sleep. What on Remnant had he been thinking, sparring with Ruby like that?

His teammates were all where he'd left them. He smiled. None of them had woken up at his entrance.

He looked at his bed. It was messy, as he'd left it, but also not covered in mud. He looked at his clothes. Covered in mud. Torn in places from Crescent Rose's onslaught.

His teammates were sleeping, and the bathroom door had been left open.

He cracked his knuckles contently, realizing he'd finally be the one to get the first shower of the day.

* * *

4:30 AM

Dull electric Dust lighting. The dank smell of black mold, sweat, soap, and bleach; layers built up over the years, each pungent in its own different way, each fighting to be more noticeable, more salient than the others.

This was the shower room adjoined to the first-years' locker room. It was a headache and Ruby had always made a purpose of avoiding it, preferring to sneak back to her dorm for privacy and comfort instead. But Weiss and Blake were doubtless still sleeping and she didn't want to disturb them again. Weiss would probably rope her into something else equally awful as trying on clothes, like picking tablecloths for the dance next weekend or something. Fortunately the shower room was empty, so maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

So Ruby cautiously stepped over the muddy grating in the floor and made her way to the farthest shower stall from the door. Unlike the private shower in her dorm, she had no idea who else might have used this stall last. She eyed the floor of the stall. It _looked_ clean, but how often did they likely clean this place? She sniffed. The smell of bleach was overpowering. Maybe recently, then.

Another thing different about this shower room was that it didn't have a light switch. There was a panel on the wall which looked like it might have held a switch, but it was locked up. Ruby sighed. It didn't really matter; she was probably better off with the lights on anyway, since she didn't want to stumble about blindly in here.

She put down her pajamas on the bench next to her. She pulled off her boots and took off her cloak and hung it on the wall. Then she undid her corset, and then slid off her skirt and -

 _\- her eyes were open -_

 _\- how could she have forgotten to -_

Her gasp caught in her throat. She closed her eyes and quickly finished stripping down. Then she hopped into the shower and felt around for the faucet but she couldn't find it so she opened her eyes and -

 _\- careful not to look -_

\- grabbed it and turned it as hot as it would go and then shut her eyes again. The wet steam immediately started welling up around her. It was hot and outside it had been cold and the water hurt for a bit against her skin. She didn't care.

Leaning back against the ceramic wall of the shower stall, she slid down until she was almost sitting. But with her eyes closed all she could see was what she had just seen, so she opened them and planted her stare at the showerhead above and opposite her.

Every now and then a droplet of hot water would land in her eye and she'd blink, but she kept her gaze glued firmly above her.

"What is wrong with me?" she wondered aloud. She reached with her arm out and upward, stretching out her hand. Then she brought it down against her head, smacking the base of her palm into her forehead.

She beat her hand against her head a few more times.

 _I've got to tell somebody_ , she thought. _Anybody. Yang. Jaune. Blake._ But the thought of admitting to anybody about how she felt was paralyzing. They'd think she was weird.

 _Everyone already thinks I'm weird, though,_ she thought. _And yet people like me. For some reason._ She was the quirky, clueless, happy-go-lucky girl everyone could get along with. _But this,_ she thought. This was too weird.

She sighed, frustrated. It was a joke to think she could go on like this pretending like nothing was wrong. Pretending like these feelings would eventually go away. It had been _four years_ and they hadn't gone away.

She laughed, sadly. Sniffled. And then it wasn't a laugh anymore. She couldn't keep the tears back. She slammed her right hand over her mouth; somebody else could come in here, she didn't want to explain why she was crying. At least nobody would be able to tell the tears from the water.

Of course, she knew what was wrong. She kept pretending she didn't but she did.

 _So what? So what!_ There was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't change it. There was nobody else on the whole of Remnant who was like her. It didn't even make sense; why would _anybody_ think the thoughts she was thinking?

 _Maybe this is all a dream_ , she decided. _Maybe one day I'll just wake up and..._

Her mother flashed into her mind. Summer. So beautiful, so warm...

No. She shook her head. This was not a kind world.

She would not wake up from this.

* * *

5:00 AM

Lie Ren's eyes snapped open. His morning routine had started.

Calmly, he withdrew the covers from his bed and rotated his body to a sitting position.

As usual: Stretch. Stand. Reach down. Touch toes. Straighten up. Yawn.

Even the yawn was part of his routine.

Quietly, he made his bed. Glancing around, he checked that all of his teammates were still sleeping. Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora... He smiled. While he loved his best friend dearly, she could certainly push his boundaries sometimes. That was part of why he liked to get up early; after being noisily woken up by Nora so many times in their first week he needed some time to himself.

He pulled off the pants he slept in and changed into a green T-shirt and sweats. Then he opened the door gently and left the room, closing it behind him.

Walking softly down the hall, he opened his senses to the world around him. The muffled snores of his classmates sleeping. The dewiness of the air from the storm last night. The echoes of his feet as he descended the stairwell to the cafe. As he opened the door on the ground floor level, he could hear some other early-riser like him must have been taking a shower in the basement.

He grabbed a cup and made himself some hot chocolate. It was just a simple cocoa-powder mix in boiling water but he'd integrated it into his morning routine. Neither the tea nor coffee here were up to par. That made sense; the coffee was imported here from Mistral, and somehow the rich flavour just didn't seem to survive the trip.

Resting the cup in his palm and sipping it hesitantly - hot, hot - he walked past the rows of tables to the front door of the cafe.

Birds chirping, wet grass, the lazy fingers of the sun caressed the sky. The quad was a serene place and it held a special place in his heart. He smiled. Everything was as it should be.

Almost. He blinked.

He stopped in front of his favourite tree.

What was his favourite tree. It was now shoulder-height.

He breathed in, and out. His nose twitched. Someone had desecrated his special spot. Why.

He knelt down next to the tree and placed his hands on it, closing his eyes. He felt for any residual aura, but nothing remained in the empty husk of the tree. He sighed, and placed his head against the tree in respect.

It was generally assumed that trees did not have auras, but Ren believed they did, just very weak ones. He could feel them, especially in the old trees, and they changed with the seasons, just a bit.

He stood up and backed away from what was left of the tree, pondering. Ruby had asked him to teach her aura-sensing. She had some deep inner conflict, he could tell that right from their first lesson, but she was still a gentle, simple soul. She needed something to stay grounded, something to keep her mind occupied. Perhaps he would give her the task of finding the aura in a tree.

He nodded, liking the idea more. Ruby was a sensitive person. She would be able to feel the aura in a tree for sure. She had the capacity to care about anything, even trees.

As for the cherry tree... Ren looked over the husk sadly. He'd find out what happened to it eventually.

* * *

5:30 AM

Ruby pulled up her pajama bottoms, jumping up to get them on all the way, and then stretched. Fully dressed. She smiled weakly.

Her eyes were still red, but the feeling of helplessness and frustration had passed. She shook her head; she was just being silly. There was nothing wrong, she nodded.

She breathed out; her breath caught a couple times. Nothing wrong. Just needed a few minutes to get it together. She sat down on the bench and rested her head in her hands for a few minutes. Then, remembering her Crescent Rose, she picked up her sweetheart and looked her over. Crusted in mud... that would wash off.

What wouldn't wash off were the two gashes in it where Crocea Mors had buried itself the night before, one on the handle and one on the blade. The blade just needed a bit of reforging, nothing some elbow grease couldn't handle. She was more worried about the handle. There were some mechanisms that might have been disrupted by the shield. She ran her hands along the bent metal, feeling the damage. She couldn't tell for sure, but she would have to inspect it more closely in the machine shop later.

Her fingers lightly traced the contours of the gun, feeling the metalwork she and uncle Qrow had designed. She'd made many modifications since that summer they had built it together, but at its heart, she could feel that Crescent Rose was still made of the love that she and Qrow had put into it. Metal, gears, and affection.

Moving gently upward, her fingers slipped onto the cold blade and winded their way to its edge. It was dusty and the metal was fraying; it had been months since she'd last polished and sharpened it. Pushing lightly at first, then harder, it didn't even draw blood. She shook her head. It was definitely time for some repairs. And maybe some upgrades. She would need figure something out to counter Jaune or anyone else pulling that stunt again. Maybe some bulkier plating or rubber coating on its outside edge to prevent it from lodging into any more trees in the future.

With affection in her eyes she crouched down and gently folded it up from its scythe form into its bulky but compact storage mode. Crescent Rose would never really be completely finished; there would always be some new failsafe to include, some new feature it needed, or something weighing it down that would have to be scrapped. It grew and changed alongside her. She poured her soul into improving it and shaping it as she wanted, and in some ways it could almost fill the hole in her heart.

Almost.

She smiled wondering what kind of modifications she would give herself if she were made of metal and gears like Crescent Rose was. _Probably nothing Yang would approve of_. Maybe her eyes could use a laser scope. Or perhaps she would give herself rocket-powered arms, and a fold-out sword. If she could only do to herself what she could do to her scythe, maybe she wouldn't have to have these difficult feelings.

Gathering up her muddy things and bringing them out into the locker room, she thought she heard somebody come in. She knew some students liked to wake up early, but she was still surprised she'd encounter anyone. Looking up at the clock, she saw she'd been in the shower for the better part of an hour.

"Ruby?"

She froze. Her sister was stuffing Ember Celica back into her locker. She looked tired.

"Oh, Yang! Hi. Did you ever find your friend?"

Yang blinked, confused for a second. "Coco? No, turns out she and her team are out posted on the mission along with all the other second-years."

Ruby nodded. "Okay. Well, I'm going to go do some laundry, and then maybe fix up Crescent Rose. Jaune did a number on it last night." Her sister raised an eyebrow. "Glad to see you're okay. Did you stay up all night?"

Yang shrugged. "Yeah. Looks like you had a rough night though," she said, looking at her muddy and scratched-up combat equipment.

"Nah, it was fun," Ruby smiled. "Maybe you should go get some sleep, sis? You look pretty tired."

"I guess."

Ruby frowned. Her sister didn't seem as energetic as she normally did. She wasn't meeting her eyes.

Ruby moved toward her sister, putting her hand on Yang's shoulder. "Are you okay?" she said, gazing into her diverted eyes.

Yang didn't respond for a moment. Then she quickly stuttered, "Wha- oh, yeah! I'm fine!" she grinned, meeting her eyes, "Sorry, just... zoned out for a sec."

Ruby gave her a skeptical but unaccusing glare.

"How about you?" Yang leaned over her. "Your eyes look red. Are you coming down with something?"

Ruby shook her head slowly. "N-no, I don't think so."

Yang stepped back and rubbed her chin. "Hm. Okay, well, let me know if you start getting congested. We don't want a repeat of the Great Autumn of Sniffles, now do we?"

She groaned. "No, no we don't." Her sister still seemed a bit off, though. "I should go clean these up."

Yang nodded. "But if you want to talk about anything..."

"Talk?" Ruby gulped. "Um, no, nothing to talk about!" She adjusted her pile of muddy clothes in her arms and backed away, toward the door.

"Okay," Yang said, raising her hands, "but, you know I'm here right?" She said, in a tone that hinted at something deeper.

"Uh, yep! Not that there's anything to talk about." She twirled around and walked quickly out of the locker room, flustered. Behind her she heard her sister sigh, audibly disappointed and frustrated.

She knew it was cruel of her to avoid talking to her sister, but - it was _hard_. Whenever they talked about anything serious it all just felt too familiar, too much like... Summer. And Yang's mom. And the wolves. All the bad things that had happened to her family. Couldn't they just be happy for once? Why did these icky, unhappy moments have to keep popping up?

As she walked down the hall toward the laundry area she stared into the mud coating her clothes. She knew it was unreasonable to expect things to always be happy; life wasn't a fairytale. This wasn't a world where silver-eyed men from Vacuo would swoop in and save the day every time something went wrong. But that's exactly why she wanted to be a Huntress. She wanted to swoop in and save the day, not cause problems.

Pushing open the door to the laundry room with her back, she reasoned about what it even was she wanted. She didn't want to cause problems. But there already _was_ a problem. Confronting her sister about it would help solve the problem; it would be perfectly analogous to swooping in and saving the day. So not confronting her would just be pretending there wasn't a problem. Ruby frowned. _But this isn't like Beowolves, though. Beowolves don't go away if you pretend they don't exist._ Maybe this problem would.

She shoved her clothes into the laundry machine. _And that kind of reasoning is why you've kept it bottled up this long. Would you just man up, you silly Huntress!_ She laughed, and shut the lid.

It was a joke that nobody would find funny but her.

* * *

7:00 AM

 _BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP_ -

"No!" Jaune shouted into his pillow and slammed his hand down on the alarm clock on the table next to his bed, shutting it up.

Or so he would have thought. For some reason the noise didn't stop.

" _BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP -_ "

"Mmmph," Jaune complained, rolling his head slightly and opening his eyes to see what on earth could be that annoying. It just sounded harsher if anything.

"Nora!" Pyrrha Nikos accused from her bed, next to his. "That is not a welcome sound," she winced. "Please desist."

Nora clamped her mouth shut obligingly. But then her cheeks started to balloon outward as though being inflated from the inside. Then she couldn't hold it in any more and made a _pop_ noise with her mouth, followed by giggling. "Boop." Then she gasped.

"Ren!" She exclaimed. "You're here!" Her _absolute-best-friend-forever_ was sitting in the corner. Which to Jaune did not even register as unusual but to Nora it was clearly a shocking, utterly life-changing discovery.

"I believe the standard greeting is 'good morning,'" said Ren, amused, "but I'll accept that."

"No, I mean -" Nora started, but then didn't finish because she clearly didn't know what she meant. "I mean. You're here!"

"Yes, thank you for that poignant and hard-earned information," Pyrrha sighed, standing up and pulling off her pale pink nightie. It was a rarely-seen example of Pyrrha-sarcasm. Jaune would have commented on it, normally. Pyrrha glanced down at him as she tugged her miniskirt on. He was still be sleeping.

"Ren is never here in the morning!" Nora finally explained.

"What Ren does in the morning is his business," lectured Pyrrha.

"Why are you here!" Nora shouted. And then clamped her hand over her mouth. (Of her own volition. Something unheard of for Nora. Ren raised his eyebrows.) "No wait, I mean - yay, you are here!"

Ren nodded quizzically.

"It's just - you normally aren't," Nora explained, a hint of sadness entering her voice. "What's different today?"

"They chopped down my favourite tree."

"I see..." Nora paused. Then, the room almost went dark as she steepled her hands, a malicious glint in her eye. "So that means if, in the future -"

"Please refrain from chopping down any trees on campus," Pyrrha cautioned her, recognizing what she was planning.

Nora pouted. Ren shifted, almost imperceptibly relieved.

"I am ready for the day," Pyrrha announced, slipping on her bracer over her three-quarter sleeves, the final piece of her outfit. "Shall we go eat breakfast? Jaune?"

Her partner stirred. "Mmph."

"Jaune," Pyrrha warned. Then she put her hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

"Go on without me," Jaune mumbled. At least, that's what she assumed he said; he was speaking into his pillow and she didn't think he was even bothering to move his mouth.

She studied him for a few seconds, vaguely aware of Nora bouncing in the corner. "Should we delay our practice so you can get some more sleep?" she asked.

When he didn't answer, she looked to Nora and Ren for their opinion. Nora deferred to Ren, whose violet eyes wandered to the door.

"Breakfast," he said simply.

"He'll live," said Nora, reassuringly.

Pyrrha gazed affectionately at her partner. "Very well. Breakfast it is." As the three of them filed out of the room, she grabbed a sticky note from off the high dresser and wrote a quick note explaining their absence.

She hit the light and shut the door, stealing one last glance at her blond-haired friend.

* * *

7:10 AM

Ruby knocked at the door hesitantly. They _should_ be up by now, but she couldn't be sure; Team RWBY had a variable schedule on weekends.

"Come in," she heard Blake say absent-mindedly. She obliged, unlocking the door with her scroll.

Blake was sprawled out on her bed, reading a book. She looked around for her other half, but Weiss wasn't there. Neither was Yang but at least she was accounted for.

"Where's Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Glad to see you too," Blake replied.

"Oh, uh..." Ruby wasn't sure whether to apologize and ask Blake about her book or just ask for Weiss again.

Blake laughed. "She went for breakfast."

"And not you?"

Blake waved her book as explanation.

"Oh... what are you reading?"

"Another one by the same author. It's not as good," said Blake, not looking up from her page.

"More two-souls-one-body stuff?" Ruby asked, curiously.

"Nope, this one is about pirates hunting for treasure."

"Sounds exciting," Ruby smiled.

Blake shrugged.

Ruby stood in the doorway and watched her teammate read for a few minutes, thinking. She and Blake were alone in here; now would be a good time. She may have found the idea of talking to her sister daunting, and talking to Blake was certainly scary too. But Blake had come out about her faunus heritage to them, and it would only work against everything they had done to patch up the damage from that incident if she ended up blurting out her secret accidentally in the same way Blake had. She shut the door behind her gently.

Ruby bit her lip uncertainly. "Blake..." she started. _How to broach the topic_.

Blake looked up from her book, sensing a shift in the tone in the room, and gazed at her, attentive.

Ruby's heart was pounding. "You know, you don't have to keep your bow on in here, if it's not comfortable. You don't have to be - ashamed. Of who you are."

Blake blinked, her bright amber eyes winking out for a moment. She sat up straight and patted the bed next to her.

"Come, sit," she invited.

Ruby stared nervously. "U-uh, okay," she said, and walked carefully to her teammate's bed, where she sat next to her partner. Even though they had worked through the hurt feelings from the revelation of Blake's heritage as a team already, she and Blake had not yet talked about this alone.

"They're not that uncomfortable," she said, glancing up at her bow, "and I would rather not risk being found out."

"Don't you find it stifling, not being able to really be yourself?" Ruby asked, concerned. And also very interested to see things from her point of view.

Blake tilted her head and gazed out the window. Then she reached up and undid her bow, wiggling her cat ears. Ruby would have giggled any other time. They were really cute ears.

"An extra pair of ears doesn't make me who I am," Blake said.

"I guess that's not exactly what I mean," she decided. "You were - you are - a strong believer in the advancement of faunus rights. You don't have to put a mask over all of that."

"I haven't," Blake said simply. "I still fear for the future of my species. And I intend to use every spare moment I have to help settle the enmity between us."

"Between us?" said Ruby, taken aback.

"Not _us_. I didn't mean that; it's just a force of habit to see every human as..." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. Just, old prejudices are hard to overcome. Which is why it's going to take a lot of work to fix this." She looked down at her book, vaguely disgusted.

"Besides," Blake continued, "it's not so bad to hide anymore. I have you," she met her eyes, "and the rest of Team RWBY. And I might tell JNPR soon, if only to preclude any similar sort of conflict in the future."

"You should," Ruby agreed. "Why don't you tell everyone?"

Blake eyed her steadily, and opened her mouth, but closed it quickly.

Ruby tried some words around in her mouth. She decided to shift the topic slightly.

She delicately said, "What was it like, before you told us?"

Blake bit her fingernail. She looked much more sensitive to her than she'd ever seen before.

"It was... not something I'd like to go back to," she answered. "I felt guilty every day about hiding my heritage from you. I just, I couldn't be sure. I didn't know you and Yang well enough to realize you'd be okay with it. And I was certain Weiss would, well..." she paused. "Weiss has taken it better than I could ever have guessed."

"So you're glad you told us?"

"Of course. I only wish it had been under calmer circumstances. It turns out, people can be very open-minded if you just give them a chance."

Ruby nodded, then clasped her hands together. Now was the time.

"Blake, I have -" her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't say it.

Blake's eyes quickly snapped to hers, concerned. "Ruby?" she asked gently.

"I have -" she couldn't - "t-to -"

Tears welled up in her eyes. She shook her head. She couldn't. She was crying again. _Again!_ Twice in one day. How silly was that.

"It's okay," Blake said, surprised but gentle. Ruby felt her hand rest on hers. "You don't have to say."

"A s-secret..." was all she managed to stammer out. Then Blake had her arms around her and her head was on Blake's shoulder and she was going to get Blake's shirt wet _and this is really not going all that well_.

She stayed there, nested on her teammate's shoulder for several minutes, shaking, before she wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay," Blake replied steadily. "Really. Whatever is bothering you, you can tell me when you're ready."

"Okay..." Ruby sighed. She had _wanted_ to just get it out. But it was never that easy. She started toward the door.

"Ruby, heads up," Blake said. Ruby spun around, just in time to catch a book that Blake had tossed her. "I think you'll like it."

She looked at the faded spine. _The Strange Case of..._

"It's the book!" She exclaimed. "From our first night at Beacon. The man with two souls."

Blake nodded. "It's not exactly right, but it's the closest I can think of as an answer. To what it's like." She started to carefully do up her bow again.

"Thank you," Ruby smiled. And sniffled. She walked over to her own bed and reached up, placing the book on the pillow. "I'll read it later, after breakfast. Will you join me?"

Blake shook her head. "I have some work to catch up on." She looked worried, sad, maybe even ashamed. Ruby didn't think she meant schoolwork, but she wouldn't press her on it.

"Okay. Just, let me know if you need anything. Team leader after all. That's my job."

Blake nodded absently, her hands above her working to readorn herself.

"Bye."

Ruby waited until Blake's bow was all the way on before leaving.

* * *

7:30 AM

Weiss picked at her food without much interest. Cereal, apple, cookie. They always served cookies on weekends - today was chocolate chip - but they were usually quite bland. Even the chocolate was lackluster. Usually Weiss didn't mind so much because her teammates' antics always made breakfast interesting. For the past few days, Yang had been practising catching food in her mouth. Initially this had just entailed doing extra laundry to wash out the stains of small fruits and various parts of different meals every day, but recently she was getting pretty good. She seemed to think it would be a necessary skill in case of a food fight.

Her team made everything interesting, really. But today it was just her in the cafeteria. And the various other teams. She was vaguely aware of team CRDL harassing some student, probably a faunus. Their usual victim, Velvet, didn't seem to be around. Poor girl. They soon stopped when Glynda entered the room.

Weiss suddenly felt her bench jostle. She jumped.

"Hi Weiss, do you mind if we join you?" asked Pyrrha, who had snuck up behind her with the rest of Team JNPR. Or maybe just "Team NPR"; the J seemed to be absent.

"Of course!" said Weiss, earnestly. Even with one member down, NPR was still doing better than Team W.

Pyrrha put down her tray of food next to her. Nora bounced over to the other side of the table with Ren in tow.

"Good morning!" Nora said, bubbly as always.

Weiss smiled. "Morning."

Pyrrha had some kind of jam sandwich, Ren was eating one of the more eccentric brands of cereal that Weiss usually eyed with suspicion, and Nora had grabbed a handful of bananas and an entire baguette. They also all had a cookie each; the servers practically forced them on the students.

"Where's your team?" asked Pyrrha.

Weiss threw her hands up in the air in mock frustration. "I don't know! When I left the dorm Blake said she'd be down in a few minutes. And I haven't even seen the sisters since yesterday."

"You haven't seen Ruby or Yang at all?" asked Pyrrha, surprised. "I would be very worried if my teammates disappeared like that." Ren smiled at the comment. Nora bounced. "Especially my own partner."

Weiss rested her chin on her hand. "Ruby popped in in the middle of the night. Yang is probably out with friends or something."

Nora gasped, "Ooh, or maybe she went on a date!".

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Not likely. Who schedules a date for midnight."

"Maybe her date went _really well_ ," Nora said suggestively.

"Uh-huh," said Weiss. She was well aware of Yang's flirtatious habits, but she doubted anything quite like that had happened. "She was going to stay in until I reminded her that she didn't have class today. So I don't think she had any plans."

"She could have gone to a bar," Nora continued. Ren shot her a look that said she was going too far. Nora took no notice. "She's had good luck with those."

Weiss laughed. "Has she? You seem to know a lot about Yang's activities."

Nora shrugged. "I notice things."

Ren shook his head, amused. "You are as dense as lead, friend," he said. Weiss looked at him, surprised. She couldn't remember hearing him speak once during their whole time at Beacon so far.

Pyrrha leaned back. "Ruby!" She called out.

"Oh, there she is, finally." Weiss sighed. Ruby was by the door, where she waved at them, still wearing her pajamas.

Ruby mouthed something at them, and pointed at the lineup for food.

Weiss opened her arms outward, a gesture of confusion.

Ruby pointed at herself and then at the food again. And then made a big wide gesture with her arms.

 _She wants food?_ Weiss thought. _Lots of food? There's no need to tell us that._ She turned back to Team NPR.

"It appears one more member of Team RWBY is now accounted for," Pyrrha smiled.

"You're still missing somebody," said Weiss. "Who was it again?" she said, feigning ignorance. "Well, couldn't be anyone important if I don't even remember their name. How droll."

Pyrrha gave her a wry glance. " _Jaune Arc_ is just catching up on sleep. I've been pushing him quite hard to improve his fighting skills."

"I see. That's very," Weiss paused, looking for a word, "admirable." She knew Jaune was a hopeless cause. He'd probably drop out any time now. How unfortunate that he'd been assigned leader of their team, it would only make it more painful when he inevitably abandoned them.

Pyrrha beamed. "Thank you!" she said in earnest. "It's been difficult but I believe we are making excellent progress. Just last week I saw him fend off an Ursa."

"An Ursa?" asked Weiss, surprised.

"Indeed." Pyrrha took a bite out of her sandwich, causing the filling to spill out onto the table. "Oh dear!" she exclaimed, "I must apologize for my lack of manners. I'll be right back." She stood up and ran off to grab paper towels.

Weiss raised her eyebrows. Nora laughed.

"So..." Weiss looked at Ren and Nora. She wasn't sure she'd ever had a proper conversation with these two.

Ren sipped his tea.

"Jaune and Pyrrha?" Weiss asked, innocently.

Ren nearly spat out his tea. (Nearly. Weiss would have been surprised if there were ever a situation in which Ren would lose his composure.) Nora giggled, and leaned closer. "He's completely clueless!"

"Must be interesting sharing a room with them," Weiss said, then sipped her own tea.

Nora laughed. "Well you should know, what with Ruby and all."

Weiss spat out her tea. "What!" she exclaimed. Ren was staring at his partner.

Nora tilted her head. "Aren't you and Ruby, you know..."

"No!" Weiss practically shrieked. "Why would you even think that?"

"Please keep your assumptions to yourself, Nora," Ren said coolly.

"What can I say? Ruby is..." Nora shrugged. "I notice things."

"Well, please, notice things more accurately," said Weiss, flustered. What a preposterous accusation. She fixed upon the jam stains on the table. "I hope Pyrrha knows she doesn't have to clean that up, there are janitors."

"I'm sure she's just embarrassed since you're, you know," Nora started, and then trailed off as Ren nudged her.

Weiss eyed her steadily.

"A Schnee," Nora finished.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well, she's Pyrrha Nikos. I should be the one minding my manners," she said diplomatically.

"Yeah, that's like, not even a tenth as impressive." Nora continued.

"Nora -" Ren made to cut her off.

Weiss continued, "Really, she's an incredible fighter who's made a name for herself. I think this is even her brand of cereal I'm eating. I just have my family's name backing me up, nothing I've accomplished myself."

"Didn't you say you were a singer?" Ren said. Weiss was again surprised by him speaking. "And you're in Beacon. Whatever you might say, you can't deny that your admittance here proves you are an impressive and accomplished individual."

"Perhaps," said Weiss, realizing she'd accidentally turned this conversation somewhere a little more serious than she'd intended, "but I still have higher ambitions." She smiled and flicked her ponytail. "Pyrrha's fighting skill is already at a very high level. I'm surprised she even -"

"Pardon me?" said Pyrrha, returning with a stack of paper towels in her hands. "I thought I heard my name."

"Weiss was just complementing you on how tall you are!" Nora explained.

"Oh, thank you, Weiss." Pyrrha looked flustered as she was cleaning up her mess from earlier. "However, I am really not very tall at all compared to Glynda. I was very surprised to see how tall she is in person; she must have almost six inches on me."

"Hey guys!" Ruby said, appearing suddenly with a large tray stacked high with cookies. She carefully sat down next to Weiss, balancing the collapsing pile of cookies against her chest. "Look, they're serving cookies! They let me have a whole bunch."

"We noticed," said Pyrrha, surprised.

"Where have you been?" Weiss asked, in as friendly a voice as possible but still laced with subtle accusation.

"Oh, sorry, I was tending to Crescent Rose," explained Ruby, patting her beloved weapon at her waist. "She took some hits last night."

"What? Who were you fighting?" Weiss asked, surprised and worried.

"Oh, just Jaune. I told you last night. We were practising. It was fun!" Ruby smiled, looking around for her friend.

"You were practising with Jaune?" asked Pyrrha, surprised. Weiss groaned. Pyrrha was so predictable when it came to Jaune.

Nora laughed. "Concerned about the competition?" Nora winked at her across the table.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean," Pyrrha said. "The Vytal festival is still weeks away."

"Say, where is Jaune anyway?" asked Ruby. "Still sleeping?"

"Yes," said Pyrrha. "You must have really worn him out. I hope he is still okay to practise with the rest of us today." She glanced up at the clock. "We were hoping to start in less than one hour."

"Sorry about that," said Ruby sheepishly. "Oh, but you should have seen him! He had all these crazy moves! Well, just one crazy move actually. But it was cool! He caught me completely off-guard." Ruby shook her head wistfully.

Pyrrha grinned. "That is excellent news! I am so glad that he has learned that much."

"How easy were you going on him?" asked Weiss.

"Weiss! I wasn't going easy on him," Ruby shook her head. "Really, he turned out to be a very creative fighter. He disarmed me actually!"

"He disarmed you?" said Pyrrha, surprised. "We haven't covered that yet."

"I guess that means he's finally hitting his stride," said Ruby happily.

"That is good to hear," said Pyrrha, but she seemed a bit saddened by the news. Weiss rolled her eyes. Pyrrha was rather protective of Jaune.

"So anyway, what were you talking about when I came by?" Ruby smiled.

Nora hopped in to explain. "Just how Pyrrha has a _crush on_ -"

"I believe," Pyrrha quickly interrupted her, "we were discussing how Professor Goodwitch is very tall for a woman."

Ruby looked puzzled. "Are women shorter than men?"

Weiss brought her hand to her face. _This dolt is so oblivious sometimes._

"Yes," said Pyrrha. "I'm surprised if you've never noticed."

"People don't tell me these things!" Ruby complained. "And Jaune said they were stronger, too."

"Let's not believe everything Jaune says," said Ren.

"That's the third time you've spoken!" said Weiss. Ren looked slightly taken aback. Even this small amount of emotion on his face was probably more than she'd ever seen him react to anything.

"The third time since when?" Ren asked.

"Since - ever!"

Ren hummed. Weiss narrowed her eyes.

"You are a coy, coy man, Ren Lie."

"It's 'Lie Ren,'" Nora corrected her. Weiss crossed her arms.

"Glynda is tall! And she's a woman," Ruby exclaimed. "See? It's not true."

"Glynda wears heels," Weiss said, and sighed. _So oblivious_.

Ruby gasped, nearly choking on a cookie she was shoving down her mouth. "You're right! I never noticed that. Well, she's strong, at least."

"Nobody said she wasn't," said Pyrrha.

"Is she, though? I've never actually seen her fight," said Weiss. "And isn't her semblance, what, repairing things? That doesn't seem very intimidating. She's probably harmless."

"Glynda can do other things," said Ruby defensively. "I've seen her fight."

"What does she do?" said Weiss sarcastically, "Repair her enemies to death?"

"Yes," said Glynda.

Everyone turned and gasped at their professor, who was standing at the head of their table, her arms crossed, staring daggers at Weiss.

Weiss gulped. _That was extremely inconvenient timing_.

"H-how does that work?" asked Nora.

"It would not be my first choice in a combat, but yes, almost anything can be used as a weapon with enough creativity, even the ability to repair objects. I would have hoped, Ms. Schnee," Glynda paused, glaring at her again, "that you would have learned that from my class by now. If you'd been paying attention."

"You are _toast_ ," whispered Ruby into her hear. "Buttered toast."

"W-well, how would you use that ability to hurt somebody," asked Weiss tentatively. "I still don't see how."

Glynda sighed. "How long ago did you finish your cookie, Ms. Schnee?"

"I -" Weiss glanced down at her plate - "I don't follow."

"Did you just finish it now? Or was it half an hour ago after you first walked in?" _What is she talking about?_

"About half an hour ago," she admitted.

"Then there is a twenty percent chance that the partially-digested cookie has already exited your stomach into your intestine," - _ew_ , thought Weiss - "and regardless, your intestine also contains the mostly-digested remains of the meals you've consumed here within the past thirty to fifty hours, including last night's pizza, and the crackers and cheese at lunch." Weiss started to object. "Which I saw you eat, don't deny it." Professor Goodwitch coughed.

Weiss noticed Ruby's eyes open wide, realizing what Glynda was getting at. But Weiss was still completely lost.

"I don't quite think I -" Weiss began.

"It would be a real shame," Glynda said slowly, leaning over the table at her, "if those partially-digested contents in your soft intestine were to suddenly no longer be partially-digested."

"Um," Weiss started. This was getting scary.

"The rapid reorganization of that partially-digested material into its original form could rip into your intestinal tissue and cause serious structural tears."

"My aura would protect me," Weiss pointed out.

"True. It would cause the wounds to heal up quickly, preventing the contents of your intestine from re-entering the digestive tract. Instead they would sit in your abdominal cavity for months, slowly damaging the rest of your body. Your aura would work to heal your body and close the wounds continually created by the foreign bodies, obstructing the natural transit path of your white blood cells and interfering with your immune system's ability to attempt to isolate and dispose of the matter."

"What's a white blood cell?" asked Ruby, "And why would Weiss' aura work against her like that?"

"White blood cells are what the body uses to heal in place of a missing aura. And for the second question: aura is only as clever as the soul projecting it," said Glynda pointedly. _Ouch_ , thought Weiss. "It can happen that one's aura works against the body unintentionally. Several poisons exploit this, in fact. All of this is covered if you take Peach's class in second year."

"Plant and animal biology?" Weiss asked, surprised. "We're here to become Huntresses - and Huntsmen," she added, nodding at Ren, "not scientists."

Glynda shook her head disappointedly. "You said exactly the same thing in my class last week."

Weiss remembered she had said that. Nonetheless, she still didn't see how Glynda's strange class could be useful compared to the more practical skills they were learning. Even history class was more applicable.

"Combat physics rocks!" exclaimed Ruby.

Glynda smiled. "I'm glad at least one student is paying attention. I'll see you Monday at five, Ruby,"

"Monday?" Weiss asked. _They were doing something on Monday._ "Ruby, we were going to go shopping, remember?"

"I thought you said Tuesday," Ruby said to their professor.

"Did I? Hmm. I think I said Monday." Glynda shrugged and walked away.

"O-okay..." Ruby turned to Weiss. "Sorry."

Weiss raised her hands. "Look, if you wanted to get out of it _that_ badly you could have just asked me."

Ruby shook her head. "N-no! Ah, I'm sorry, clothes shopping isn't really my favourite activity but I really was planning to go with you, honest!" Ruby banged her head on the table. "Now I've failed my partner."

Weiss sighed. Her partner may have been oblivious but at least she tried.

Ruby sat up suddenly. "Glynda!" She called out, and pointed.

Glynda turned around. She was already part-way across the cafeteria. She walked back slowly. "Did you perhaps mean to say, 'Professor Goodwitch, may I please have your attention?'"

Ruby gulped. "Uh, y-yes. Professor Goodwitch, may I please have your attention?"

Glynda bowed her head. "You may indeed, Ms. Rose."

Weiss shook her head. _This dolt is going to get both of us in trouble._

"That was an empty threat" said Ruby, confidently.

"Ruby," said Pyrrha, surprised. Glynda raised her eyebrows.

"You said last night, you couldn't repair that tree because it was alive." Ren glanced at her. "Well so is food! Kind of. You can't repair food, not inside someone's gut, not anywhere. Food is made of living matter, so there." Ruby crossed her arms, smug.

Weiss couldn't believe her partner was this much of a dolt. Glynda had walked away, they'd been spared, and then she'd brought her right back. Everyone else at the table - everyone else in the room, she noticed glumly - was staring at Ruby and Glynda. Cardin seemed to be placing bets.

Glynda shook her head, disappointed. She made a _tsk, tsk_ sound with her tongue. "Think before you speak, Ruby. What have you seen me repair in the past?"

Ruby paused, thinking. "Um, hmm, a chair -"

"- which you broke -"

"- a doorframe -"

"That's enough. And what are those objects made of?"

Ruby thought harder. "Um, wood. Wait..."

"Indeed," Glynda nodded. "I cannot repair a tree, but I can repair a wooden chair. Why might that be?"

Ruby shook her head.

Weiss spoke up. "It's artificial. You can't repair a tree because that would be returning life where there was none. But restoring a broken chair to a fixed chair does not restore life, it just restores the human-made object to order."

Glynda nodded again. "Very good deduction. Approximately correct, even."

Weiss sighed. Maybe this meant she was off the hook.

"I'm not convinced," said Ruby. "Food is different from a chair."

But Ruby and her big mouth.

Glynda frowned. "That's fine. Empirical evidence is best, anyway." Then she swirled her riding crop in her hand, looking mysteriously at Ruby's stomach.

Ruby's eyes went wide. "Wh- did you just do something? Did you just cast a spell on me?"

"Hmm? I didn't do anything," said Glynda. "Besides, even if I did, there's nothing to fear. Because," she paused.

Glynda turned and glared pointedly at Weiss.

"I'm probably harmless."

Finally, after Glynda had left and several minutes had passed, conversation in the room erupted.

"I'm _toast_ ," said Ruby, looking anxiously at her stomach. "Buttered toast!"

"That is a remarkably strange expression," Pyrrha commented.

" _You're_ toast?" Weiss asked. " _I'm_ toast. Did you see how she glared at me just then?"

"Relax" said Pyrrha. "What would Glynda do to you anyway?"

"Yeah, what could she do? She's _probably harmless_." Nora said seriously. And then burst out laughing, unable to keep a straight face.

Weiss noticed Ruby's arm on her. Her partner was staring at her. She stared back.

"We're toast," they said in unison.

After laughing and joking about this for a few minutes, Pyrrha glanced up at the wall. "It's nearly eight already! By Dust, I should go check on Jaune."

"Mhm, I hope he's okay," Ruby agreed, muffled. She had stuffed her face with cookies again.

As team NPR stood to depart, Weiss sighed. "They have practice. We should go study."

Ruby nodded. "Okay. Hopefully Blake can help me."

Weiss blinked. "Is Blake good at physics?"

"Uh," Ruby shook her head, clearly confused. "What?"

"Physics. Blake. Hello." Weiss waved her hands in front of her oblivious partner.

"I thought it was History. The exam on Monday."

"No way, you dolt. Come on," Weiss grabbed her arm. "You are going to teach me _all about_ this stuff."

* * *

8:00 AM

Jaune stared up at the poached-egg moon suspended in the boiling water pot night sky. The stars formed such a large grid, he couldn't even understand what he was looking at.

"Just select your character," Pyrrha explained. "I recommend Betelgeuse, but it's up to you. What's your favourite colour?"

"Yellow," he said. He was confused. They were sparring on the roof, but now his back was to a cherry tree.

"Is that really your favourite colour?"

"Cherry," he decided, changing his mind.

Pyrrha laughed, and leaned into him. "Are you sure it's not carmine?"

"Rose," he said again. He hadn't said that yet. What did Pyrrha want from him? _Select your character._

Pyrrha leaned closer. _She's kinda hot_ _! I'd marry her._ Then Jaune blinked. It was Ruby. Obviously. How could he not have noticed their glaring similarity during character-select? Her dreamy silver-grey scythe-blade-metal eyes stared into him blankly. He felt his face blush. "Red?" he asked. He wouldn't dream of it.

Red tongue licked red metal red cherry red blood red rifle blade red hot red like -

"Jaune," Red said, seductively, but she was talking to Crescent Rose whom she held tightly to her chest. She was pathetic, she should just confess her feelings to that scythe already! Everybody already knew; it was painted in the sky. She picked up her beloved and swung it at him, but she missed. She didn't miss, she just carved a heart into the tree: _RR x CR_. "I took her last name," she explained. Lipstick.

"Jaune," she said, mysteriously.

* * *

8:03 AM

"Jaune!" Pyrrha told him again.

Jaune sat up. "Gah," he muttered, rubbing his head. "What _was_ that."

Pyyrha was brushing her hair, wet. She often showered after breakfast, since Jaune and Nora were usually in competition to squeeze in the first morning shower. Had they had breakfast already? Jaune blinked hard, trying to clear his head.

"Ruby mentioned you were sparring late last night," Pyrrha said.

"Uhh, Ruby, wha - yeah! We were." Jaune blinked harder, the image of a heart carved into tree bark fading in his mind. "I nearly beat her, actually. Your training is definitely starting to pay off!"

Pyrrha smiled. "I'm glad. Ruby is a skilled opponent."

"Uh-huh," Jaune agreed, sitting up. "What time is it?" He looked up at the clock. "Oh, no, we were going to practise!"

"Sleepyhead," accused Nora cheerfully from her bed, where she was reading a comic book.

"You must be very fond of Ruby," Pyrrha said quietly. Nora snorted.

Jaune continued to rub his brow, still tired from his lack of sleep. "Fond of her?"

Nora explained, "She means, like, you know," she made an indecipherable gesture with her hands.

"Augh! N-No way. Me and Ruby?" Jaune stammered, shocked. "I don't think she even likes men, she likes -"

"- I knew it!" Nora shouted triumphantly.

Jaune continued, rolling his eyes, "She probably likes _weapons_ or something. Have you seen the way she practically fondles her scythe?"

Nora gasped. "That would explain everything!" Ren gently whacked her on the head with a rolled-up comic book from next to her.

"Wait, explain what?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Oh," Nora paused. "I guess that doesn't explain anything, actually."

"Sure..." Jaune sighed. Nora was the weirdest person sometimes.

Pyrrha in the meantime had walked over to the bathroom and retrieved something. "Here, I found Crocea Mors on the floor next to the shower. It's covered in mud, you may want to wash it before practice."

"Are we still going to have practice?" asked Nora.

"Yeah, of course," said Jaune. "I'm sorry you guys had to let me sleep in. Here, I'll go wash up my weapon and grab breakfast. They're serving cookies today, right?"

Nora laughed. "Yes, but if you're in Glynda's bad books like Ruby is you might want to avoid those."

"And pizza," Pyrrha laughed.

"What, why?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Avoid everything, really," Nora said, smiling from ear to ear.

Jaune shook his head, wondering how he ended up with this team.

* * *

9:30 AM

Ruby ran her hand along the bookshelves, clearing four parallel lines of dust off the spines. She wanted to help Weiss with the material on the exam on Monday, but all she could think about was the thought of cookies and pizza smushing around damaging her guts. Her stomach gurgled helpfully.

"Weiss, I think Glynda really did something to me," she complained.

"Oh please, the professors would never _actually_ hurt any students," Weiss said dismissively.

"Are you kidding?" Ruby said. "This is Beacon Academy. _Beacon!_ The most dangerous school on the planet. There's a reason we don't just have a Nurse's office, we have an entire _hospital wing_."

Weiss snorted. "You should see Atlas."

"Do they have a big hospital wing there?"

"The students spend so much of the time injured that they don't even have a proper dormitory anymore. Ironwood just pre-emptively gives the students bunks in the hospital instead as a cost-cutting measure."

"Wow," Ruby said. "What do they even _do_ there?"

"The same things we do, except the students are forced to deactivate their aura during sparring in order to encourage them to avoid getting hit. Apparently they think it will save money during an actual war."

"What? That's hardcore," Ruby said. "And _insane!_ What is Ironwood thinking."

Weiss yawned. "Not Ironwood. Polendina is the one who comes up with the harsher measures." Ruby briefly wondered why that name sounded familiar.

Weiss continued, "Anyway, that's just one of the many reasons why I don't go to Atlas."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Ruby said, then paused. "Here's the book!"

She showed Weiss the cover. _The Applied Study of Kinematics in Combat Situations: An Introductory Text_.

Weiss flipped in a few pages. She frowned. "This book was published fifty years ago."

"The laws of physics haven't changed since then, Weiss," Ruby laughed.

Weiss walked over to a table and sat down. "Alright, impress me."

Ruby shrugged and sat down next to her. She began reading aloud. "First: 'Chapter Three: Physical Properties of Combat Objects and -'"

"'First, "Chapter Three"'?" Weiss repeated, surprised.

She glanced up at her. "This is what our exam is on on Monday."

Weiss put her hands up. "Why do we even need to know this? How could physics possibly be helpful in a fight?"

Ruby stuck her index finger up into the air. "One: it's not physics, it's _combat physics_."

"Sure," Weiss said, "The same way this is a _combat skirt_ , right." They giggled.

Ruby continued reading, not delivering her second reason. "'We begin by analyzing the mass and angular mass of common weapons such as -'"

"Angular mass?" Weiss asked. "What's that?"

"Well, I would prefer to call it 'moment of inertia,'" Weiss blinked at her, completely indifferent, "but it's basically how hard something is to swing or spin. Here," she said, whipping out Crescent Rose. "Try swinging this as hard as you can, and compare that to how it feels with Myrtenaster."

"What!" Weiss exclaimed, "This is a library, we can't have our weapons out in here."

"That girl with the handbag Gatling-gun never seems to get in trouble for it," Ruby pointed out.

"She keeps it in its handbag form, I hope," Weiss said nervously. "Just keep reading."

She glanced back down at the book. "Ahem. 'Common weapons,' 'frying pans,' yadeyada. Oh this looks good. 'While one can precisely calculate angular mass using the integral on page 19, it's not conducive to a favourable combat situation to perform calculus in the battlefield. Instead, we provide the following tips for estimating -'"

"Nora thinks you're gay," Weiss interrupted her.

Ruby looked up at her incredulously. "Wh-what?" She was completely flustered. "Where does she get those ideas?"

"Well are you?" Weiss said quickly. Ruby stared back at her, frozen. "It's okay, I'm not judging you. I just think I should know. Since I'm your partner."

"Uh, I, um..."

Weiss raised her eyebrows. They were in the library. How could Weiss ask her about something so personal in public?

"N-No! Of course not!" Ruby stammered. "Er, at least, I don't think so."

Weiss raised her eyebrows farther.

"I mean, I haven't, you know, _liked_ anybody yet, so..." Ruby trailed off, she could feel the blood had rushed out of her face.

Weiss sighed. "Okay, what is it then?"

"Huh?" Ruby felt very self-conscious.

"You've been all moody recently. What's on your mind?"

"I've been moody?" Ruby asked, unsure.

"Yes, occasionally. At night especially. Those extra-long showers you've been taking."

"Uh..." Ruby bit her lip. "Oh..." she trailed off, weakly. She'd started this conversation twice today already, with Blake and Yang, and backed out of it each time. Three times today, if she counted Jaune early this morning. And here, Weiss surprised her by bringing it up all over again. Was everyone conspiring against her today?

Weiss waited several minutes for her to answer. Ruby had opened and closed her mouth several times.

Finally, Weiss gave up. "Alright. If you don't want to talk about it, then -"

"I do," Ruby said, determined. She _had_ to get this off her chest.

"Okay..." Weiss said, uncertain.

"But not here. It's too," she looked around, "public."

"Then, our dorm?" Weiss asked.

Ruby nodded. Then paused. Fear loomed up in her. "Actually, can you give me some time to think about it?"

Weiss glared at her. "No. You'll just get too worked up about it and you won't tell me anything. Tell me _now_."

"Okay." Ruby swallowed her fear and turned to face Weiss dead on. "Okay. I'll tell you," she said.

She breathed in.

Now or never.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Four walls, two souls, two chairs, one table, six hundred books in five shelves and no windows.

This was just one, small corner of the immense Beacon Academy Library. Layers of dust covering a battery of knowledge. The library had been built long, long ago, well before the school had been built around it. The Beacon Library had always been a candle in the darkness, a small light signalling hope in a world of fear and despair. The wealth of annals within stood as an auxilliary line of defense against the greatest collective fear of human- and faunuskind: the fear of being forgotten. The fear of being wiped off the face of the planet by the creatures of Grimm and leaving no trace.

After centuries being passed between different curators' hands, nobody had a clear record anymore of exactly how many books took residence here. The layout of the shelves had gradually evolved over the years, adding branches, arms, spirals, rows of shelves winding through the many floors and wings of the library. But the motto had never changed: _History will never be quenched_. The library had never burned down, never been ransacked, and never been assaulted by the Grimm. It was older than any human or faunus alive.

This was the third largest library in the world, after the Mistral Royal library and a private library belonging to a wealthy Atlesian industrialist. But it was not large enough that the chill remained quarantined to this small corner. The entire building dropped in temperature by a degree.

Weiss' expression was unreadable, but Ruby shivered as she waited for her partner's cold eyes to thaw.

* * *

9:45 AM

Ruby saw Weiss open her mouth to say something in response. But she didn't say anything.

"Are... are you..." Ruby tried to finish. She was shaking hard, sweating, and her heart was pounding. _Are you going to respond?_

Weiss leaned back. "I wasn't expecting that."

Ruby blinked. "W-well, what were you expecting?"

She didn't meet her eyes. "I thought it was like that time you forgot your locker code and you couldn't break your scythe out."

Ruby instinctively patted her waist to make sure Crescent Rose was still there. It was.

Weiss continued, "You stood next to that locker for hours, Ruby. I thought I heard you talking to it at one point."

She nodded wearily, remembering how worried she was that she'd never get her treasured scythe back again. Her hands shaking, she gently bit her knuckle on her right hand to calm herself.

Weiss stood up and walked over to one of the bookshelves. She picked up one of the books and tossed it over in her hands, examining the cover absentmindedly.

"Oh, Ruby, you can get so worked up over the littlest things."

"Do you think I'm crazy?" Ruby asked. She knew for sure Weiss would think she was crazy. Even Ruby thought she was crazy. There were some messed-up thoughts in her head and over the past few weeks she had felt close to breaking several times.

Weiss turned back to her. "No. No, I don't think you are crazy. Although, I can't say I really understand."

Ruby breathed out. Not crazy. Okay. At least Weiss didn't think so. That was good. But still...

"What don't you understand?" Ruby asked.

"I guess... I don't see why it matters to you. Really, what's the difference anyway? Nobody's ever going to care about something like that."

"I care," said Ruby, firmly.

Weiss shook her head, not understanding her. "But, why?"

"I don't know why, Weiss," she said softly, "I just do."

How could she make Weiss understand? Ruby knew her feelings were, if not crazy, then weird and unnatural. But she needed somebody on her side. She needed to know that her partner was on her side.

Weiss placed the book in her hands back into the shelf. One spine free of dust among rows of faded ones.

"I can't even stand to look at myself anymore," Ruby said. "All I can think is that I look like my mother."

She looked at her sadly. "You don't get along with your mother?"

"My mother's dead," said Ruby.

Weiss averted her gaze. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't," Ruby smiled. "But I never really knew her. Bits and pieces. Nothing more than vague memories."

"So why does it bother you? That you look like her."

"I don't want to look like someone else," Ruby said. "Not somebody I never even knew. Not somebody who abandoned me before I could speak. I just want to be myself. And when I look in the mirror, I just, I don't see that. I don't see _me_. It makes me," she swallowed. "Sick. It makes me feel sick, what I see. A flimsy little girl who can't even figure herself out."

"So you hate your mom? Is that it?" Weiss sighed.

"N-no, that's not it," Ruby said. "It's not my mom. It's me. I can't stand being like this."

"Being like what?" Weiss asked. "There's nothing wrong with you."

Ruby buried her face in her arms on the table. She wasn't crying - she'd done that three times today already, she'd had enough of that. She just felt hopeless and alone.

"I can't do this, Weiss. I can't keep this act up anymore."

She heard Weiss pull up the chair next to her and sit down again.

"Ruby."

"What?"

"You're just going to have to get through this."

She looked up at her partner. "What do you mean?"

Weiss sighed. "You don't like your body. Fine. I get that. I have to look at myself in the mirror every day and wonder if I'm going to end up like my father." She raised her hand to silence Ruby pre-emptively. "Not in that way. But in the mirror I see a Schnee. That's not such an honourable face to have these days."

"Weiss..." Ruby started.

"And every day, they remind me of my failures. Every time I look at myself." She blinked, slowly, and Ruby noticed once again the scar across her eyelid. They'd never talked about it.

"So you want to..." Ruby was unsure. "Change your face?"

"No. You dolt." Weiss smiled, briefly. "I could put makeup over my scar. I could hide my face behind a mask. But that's not really going to make my mistakes go away. It won't make my family's mistakes go away. If you don't like yourself, it's not your body that's the problem."

Ruby started to speak but Weiss put her hands on Ruby's shoulders.

Weiss stared deeply into her. "There is nothing. Wrong. With. Your body."

Ruby shook her head. "Yes there is. If I could change it, I would, in a heartbeat. And then -" She bit her lip. "I'd be happy."

"That won't make you happy," Weiss said, releasing her grasp on her shoulders. "What you want is impossible."

Ruby didn't say anything.

"You can't change something like that. I could wake up one day and decide, 'I want to be a faunus.' I could even go to the store and buy some cat-ear hairband, if they still sell them here. I could wear it every day. But that won't make me a faunus. Just like Blake isn't -" she looked to the door to make sure nobody was listening. "Just like Blake's bow doesn't make her a human," she whispered.

Ruby still didn't say anything.

"You're going to be a Huntress," she explained.

"I don't want to," Ruby said. She knew Weiss was right, but she felt deep down like there was still an out somewhere. "I can't stay like this."

"There's nothing wrong with you," Weiss repeated. "You're not being reasonable."

"Please, Weiss," Ruby stood up. "I'm serious. I'm trapped in here." She spread out her arms, displaying herself to her partner.

Ruby felt Weiss' eyes examine her. It was an unbearably tense moment. Unlike Weiss, who conducted herself with dignity wherever she went, Ruby was usually stilted and anxious in almost every interaction. She felt best when she could pretend that she was invisible. As someone who couldn't even look at herself in the mirror, it took all her nerve not to back away and hide from her partner's gaze.

Finally Weiss said, "I don't see anything to be ashamed of. Ruby," Weiss paused, "I think you just need more self-confidence. You just need to believe in yourself, and trust that everything will work out. Sit down."

Ruby sat down.

"I think, that if this is the way you are," Weiss opened her arms, indicating Ruby's body, "then this is the way you're meant to be."

Ruby shook her head. "How can you know that?"

Weiss grabbed her hand. "Just trust me."

Ruby didn't meet her eyes.

"There are some things you can just know. Things you can feel."

Ruby didn't blink. She refused to blink. Somehow, not blinking would make everything okay.

"This is one of those things, Ruby. You just have to accept it. Trust me." Weiss shifted, releasing her hand.

"Hm." Ruby didn't know what to say. She wanted to trust Weiss, but she also didn't want to believe what Weiss was saying.

"But, if you're really serious about this... Maybe I'm not the one to talk to."

Still not meeting her eyes, Ruby said, "You're my partner. You're my friend."

"Yes. But I'm not your family."

Ruby rubbed her nose. She knew what Weiss was saying.

"I'm not your sister," Weiss said softly.

"I can't," Ruby croaked. "She -"

"She's seen it, too. The way you've been lately. You have to talk to her."

"I can't, it's -"

"You're being unfair to her. What if she had something bottled up like this? Wouldn't you want to be there for her?"

"Of course!" Ruby exclaimed. "But I..."

"You're _hurting_ her," Weiss said, more angrily now. "And why? Because of this crazy fantasy?"

"Not crazy," Ruby said, reflexively. "Please, this is really hard for me!" She clasped her hands together to stop them from trembling.

Weiss breathed out. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

Ruby fixed her gaze on the floor.

"It's just, you have such an amazing, special relationship with her. Don't let," Weiss started, her voice cracking. She brought her hand to her mouth. "Excuse me. I just don't want to see what happened to me and my sister happen to you."

She looked up at her partner's eyes. "You have a sister?"

Weiss glanced away. "Yes. Her name is Winter."

"You've mentioned your father before, but not her," Ruby said. Weiss flinched. "You... don't get along well with your family, do you?"

With a pained look in her eyes, Weiss shook her head. "I don't get along with my father. But with Winter it's different."

"Then what happened to you and Winter?"

"My father -" Weiss started. Then she regained her composure. "It doesn't matter. My family is a complicated business." She smiled. "But it's okay. Just so long as they don't come to visit."

Ruby narrowed her eyes, uncertain. "You don't want your sister to visit?"

"No, I do. I just know she won't." Weiss sighed. "But your sister is here, at Beacon, on your team. There is no excuse not to go see her right now."

"There are things you don't know about my sister," Ruby said slowly.

"Obviously," Weiss said. "And there are a thousand and one more things you don't know about mine," she flicked her ponytail. "But your sister is my teammate as well as yours. I think I have some responsibility to both of you. And from what I know of her, personally," Weiss gazed at her serenely. "You should tell her."

"She really wouldn't take this well," Ruby explained.

"Over the past month I have started to realize that I am not the most open-minded person," Weiss said. "But I'm trying to be sensitive. So, trust me, if you can tell your," she paused, unsure about her words, "your secret to me, then you can tell it to her."

"Mm-maybe," Ruby said. Weiss' gaze remained fixed on her. She gave in. "Okay."

"Will you tell her now?" Weiss asked.

"I'll think about it," Ruby said. Then she glanced down at the book on the table in front of her. "Maybe we should keep studying?"

Weiss smiled. She looked tired. Ruby felt bad for dumping all this on her. But was also relieved to finally have told someone, though she wasn't sure Weiss really realized just how deep her insecurities were.

"Sure," Weiss finally said. "After all, we won't be able to study tomorrow."

"We... won't?" Ruby wasn't sure what her partner meant.

"Of course not! After all, we're going shopping tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Ruby exclaimed. "I thought that was Monday."

Weiss shrugged, emulating Gylnda. "Did I say that? Hmm. I thought I said Sunday."

Ruby laughed, then glanced down nervously. "You're going to need a lot of practice with some of these problems," she said.

"If only somebody could teach me," Weiss shot her a hopeful look.

"It would help to have tomorrow. And I need to finish my History assignment."

"Shopping won't take all day," Weiss said. "Besides, the dance is next weekend. We have to find you a dress." Ruby glared at her. "Or, something."

Ruby shrugged and opened the book, flipping in a few pages. "Okay... 'Calories'... Blah blah blah..."

"'Calories?'" Weiss repeated, uncertain. "I thought this was a physics text."

"Calories are an important unit of measurement in combat physics," Ruby explained.

"Of course they are," said Weiss, skeptically.

"The calorie is the primary unit of energy. Here, let's work through some example problems."

"Oh, boy."

* * *

10:00 AM

"Dust, this day is getting long," Jaune complained, taking a swig from his water bottle. Only a few drops came out.

"You've been awake for less than two hours," Pyrrha said quizzically.

"I was asleep for barely more than three," Jaune explained. Then he planted himself on the ground, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Out of boredom, he rolled his now empty water bottle across the enormous arena at Ren, who was lying down on his back with his arms splayed out. Nora giggled as the bottle rolled past her and bounced off of Ren.

"Let's not antagonize our teammates," Pyrrha lectured. She smiled, though, as Ren swatted the area around him for the bottle, not opening his eyes.

"Why does Ren get to have nap time?" Jaune asked.

"He's not napping," Pyrhha explained. "As he has said many times, he's performing -"

"'Sha-something death position', yeah," Jaune rolled his eyes and splayed himself out on the ground, imitating his teammate.

"You can get coffee from down the hall if you're still tired," Pyrrha said.

"Nah, we should probably get back into gear in a minute." Jaune rolled over and stretched out like a cat. "It's so nice that we..." he trailed off, yawning.

"That we..?" Pyrrha prompted.

"That we..." he trailed off again.

"That we..?" Pyrrha prompted again.

"That we..." he trailed off again, again.

Pyrrha lightly nudged him in the side with her foot.

"Carmine!" Jaune exclaimed, sitting up.

"Pardon me?" said Pyrrha, confused.

"Uh," said Jaune, scrambling for words. "It's so nice that we _came in_ here, to the arena," Pyrrha tilted her head, "because normally it's all booked up."

"Indeed," said Pyrrha, uncertain. "So, what exercises do you think we should do next?"

Jaune frowned. "Hmm, I was thinking about that actually," he said.

"I'm glad you were, team leader," Pyrrha smiled.

"Uh, yeah." Jaune looked at Pyrrha dubiously. She was always so well-spoken and positive that it was sometimes hard to tell whether her tone of voice was sincere or if it contained just a hint of of sarcasm.

Pyrrha smiled slightly wider.

"And, uh," Jaune coughed. "Have you noticed that all our exercises are designed to teach us how to fight people?"

She scratched the back of her head. "I think that is generally the intent, yes," she agreed.

"But," he yawned, "shouldn't we be training to fight Grimm?"

Pyrrha's smile decreased in width. "I am sorry Jaune, but my expertise is in tournament fighting," she lamented.

"No, no, it's not your fault," he stammered. "Even what we're doing in class, though; most of what we're learning here is how to fight humans. And faunus," he added, remembering how Blake would scold him. She always seemed sensitive about faunus for some reason.

"I have noticed that. I came here to Beacon to learn how to better myself as a Huntress, and I was disappointed to discover that the instruction here is rather familiar to how it was at Sanctum Academy. However, as I understand, it is simply easiest for us to practice against other humans. And faunus. Grimm do not make willing target practice."

Jaune thought about this. "Professor Port sometimes brings Grimm to class in cages."

"That is in a highly-controlled environment," Pyrrha pointed out. "And normally the purpose of those exercises is to discuss some trait of the Grimm, or to analyze that species in detail. Or for the professor to report his own escapades," she added dryly.

Standing up and brushing himself off, Jaune said, "That's true. But I wonder if we could change things up a bit."

He heard an irritated grunt in the background as Nora tried to braid Ren's hair.

"What do you suggest?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune rubbed his chin. "Couldn't we go out into the forest and track down some actual Grimm?"

"That seems quite dangerous to me, Jaune."

Jaune continued to rub his chin. It seemed fuzzier than usual. "Well, we could inform one of the professors."

Pyrrha brightened. "That would be wise."

Jaune excitedly hopped up and down, like Ruby sometimes did. "Okay, let's go!"

Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "We do have the arena for another two hours. Perhaps we could go hunting for Grimm another time, after we've thought about it more?"

He sighed. "Okay. You're probably right." Pyrrha sometimes was overly cautious, but Jaune had found it was generally prudent to listen to her.

"It's just," he paused, "I still need practice. I did take down that Ursa once, but I don't even know how I did that."

Pyrrha squeezed his shoulder. "You'll get there."

Jaune brushed her hand off, and Pyrrha stepped back.

"I guess." He pursed his lips. "Ruby said that, too," he said quietly to himself.

She looked away. "Did she," she said, absentmindedly. Then she looked back to him. "I'm sure she is correct."

Jaune nodded slowly. Then he turned to his other teammates.

" _Alright!_ " he announced. Nora and Ren both froze and looked at him. " _Into the breach once more!_ " He unsheathed Crocea Mors and held it high above him. Nora and Ren glanced at each other.

Pyrrha laughed at his dramatic antics. Then she twirled Miló about her, switching it from its javelin form into its rifle form and levelling it their teammates.

Nora licked her lips hungrily and smashed Magnhild into the ground, releasing a concussive shockwave that travelled across the arena's floor and caused the bleachers to shake. She looked at Ren expectantly, waiting for him to strike a dramatic pose as well. It was their unspoken custom to do so before every sparring session.

Ren sighed, his face slightly redder than normal. "You are all very strange," he said.

Nora shrugged. "Good enough. We'll work on that in the future, okay?"

Jaune laughed. Pyrrha laughed too.

He shook his head, once again wondering how he ended up with this team. Whenever he wondered this, he always smiled.

* * *

11:00 AM

Ruby closed the door behind her, letting her partner continue to study on her own.

She stopped, after the door was fully closed, and breathed out heavily. _What just happened in there?_ she wondered. She'd told Weiss about the feelings she'd been having, and she... How did she even react? Weiss didn't think she was crazy. That was good, at least. But also...

 _If this is the way you are, then this is the way you're meant to be._

She looked down at herself and shut her mouth firmly. She hated what she saw. She knew others saw it, too. She was small and helpless. This was not the body the warrior inside her wanted. The warrior she desperately wanted to let run wild.

 _What you want is impossible._

She couldn't help but feel that Weiss was right. This was all just a fantasy that had slowly tangled her up in its grasp, so many years ago, and she just needed to learn to let go of it. She didn't even know why she had these feelings or where they came from, but she felt them strongly, whatever the reason.

Gripping a folded-up Crescent Rose tightly at her waist, she made her way out of the library. It took her a while - this place was incredibly confusing. Finally she found herself outside, in the Beacon Academy gardens. It was still partly cloudy from the storm yesterday, the clouds forming patches here and there in the otherwise bright and sunny sky. The sky reflected beautifully in the pond next to her.

Really, what could she do? She could cut her hair shorter. Wear something different. Change her name. She paused, looking at her reflection in the surface of the pond. Those damn silver eyes.

Continuing on leisurely to her dorm, she pondered her options. She already kept her hair short, sufficiently short for her liking. And her clothes were comfortable enough for her, though they did remind her of Summer. Maybe Weiss could help her with that if and when they did go shopping. As for her name...

Her sister wouldn't forgive her if she changed that.

Again, she desperately needed Weiss to be on her side. Working through all of this with her sister was going to be a challenge, and she needed somebody to hold on to if things went south. From what she could tell, Weiss was doing her part in trying to make their partnership work. But something big was coming. Would they make it through?

 _There are some things you can just know. Things you can feel. You just have to accept it._

Reaching the dorm, Ruby sighed. She'd gone through a lot today. Time to relax.

* * *

12:00 PM

After reading Blake's book for an hour, Ruby rubbed her eyes. It was much easier on her eyes back when Yang would read to her. Maybe Ruby needed glasses. She chuckled, thinking what she'd look like. Some people could pull off glasses well, like Ozpin, but she figured glasses on her would just make her look like more of a dork.

Her stomach gurgled. She still felt sick from the cookies at breakfast this morning. Glynda probably hadn't cursed her for real, but she couldn't help feel a little worried.

Her stomach gurgled again. Deciding she was probably just hungry, not cursed, she hopped out of her bed and left her room.

"Ruby!" said Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren, in surprise. (Ren was only slightly surprised.)

"Rose!" Nora added a second later when she noticed who her teammates had seen.

"You are still as dense as lead," Ren muttered to his partner.

"Uh, hi guys!" Ruby said. They were all covered in sweat and sort of wobbly, standing outside their room in the hallway. "You were practising, right?" Jaune had mentioned that last night.

"Uh-huh," said Nora. Then she leaned over to look into the Team RWBY dorm room. "What were you doing?"

"Reading... But now I'm going to get lunch."

"I see," Nora said mysteriously. "Maybe there will be _ice cream_."

"Do you think so?" Ruby asked doubtfully.

" _Ice cream_ ," Nora winked at her.

"Okay..." Ruby smiled nervously. Nora was a very nice person but sometimes hard to understand.

"Because it sounds like -" Nora started to explain, but then Ren elbowed her.

"Oh yeah," Jaune said, clueing in. "How is Weiss doing, anyway?"

"She's okay, she's studying right now," Ruby said.

"Do you know when she'll be back?" Jaune asked.

"He's been learning guitar," Nora said sweetly. Jaune blushed. "Do you play any instruments, Ruby?"

"No," Ruby said, "I wish I did. But then..." she patted her scythe at her side. She had the strange feeling that Crescent Rose would get jealous of her. "Weiss sings, though!" she said.

"I'm sure she does." Nora winked again.

"Nora..." Ren said, in a warning tone.

"Oh!" Ruby exclaimed, remembering what Weiss had told her earlier. "Nora, Weiss and I aren't dating."

"It's okay," she interrupted. "Your secret is safe with me." She held up two fingers in a scout salute. Her other arm was behind her back.

Ren swiped his scroll, pushed open the door to the Team JNPR dorm, and grabbed Nora's arm, pulling her in.

"W-wait!" Nora exclaimed. "Ruby you better watch out or Jaune's -"

The door slammed shut.

Pyrrha glanced at Ruby and Jaune nervously. "Perhaps I should go check on them," she said.

"Oh, no, I think they'll be fine..." Jaune said. But by then she had taken out her scroll to unlock the door and left them alone.

Ruby and Jaune stood in the hallway sheepishly for a few seconds. "Your team is -" Ruby started.

"Pretty weird, I know," Jaune admitted.

Ruby laughed.

"Uh, oh yeah," Jaune rubbed his nose. "Glynda said we should go talk to Ozpin tomorrow."

"She said that last night, though," Ruby pointed out. "Do you think she meant today or tomorrow?"

"I think it was after midnight when she said that. So it would be tommorow."

Ruby hummed, thinking again about their encounter with Glynda at breakfast. "I have a feeling Glynda meant today, though."

"She is rather punctilious about these things," Jaune pointed out.

"Puncta-what?"

"Oh," Jaune shrugged. "That was the word Pyrrha used to describe her."

"Well, punctiferous or not, Glynda might not remember things the way we do."

"Huh?" Jaune asked.

"We should probably talk to Ozpin today," Ruby explained.

Jaune pulled out his scroll to check the time. "After lunch?"

The door unlocked. Jaune frowned, glancing between his scroll and the door. Then Ren emerged from the dorm.

"Hi, Ren!" Ruby smiled.

"Ruby Rose," Ren bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"What's up?" Jaune asked.

"Nora has 'banished' me from our room," Ren said wryly.

"Oh, that sucks man," Jaune said sympathetically. They both shook their heads sadly.

"She - she can do that?" Ruby asked. "Banish you?"

"Yep," Jaune sighed. Ruby saw a deep, mutual understanding in the two men's eyes.

"Well, um," Ruby paused. "Ren!"

Ren looked at her expectantly. His violet eyes stared deep into her.

"Do you want to - later today..." She trailed off. His eyes were actually very mesmerizing. She'd never looked right at them before. Ruby was vaguely aware of Jaune glancing between the two of them. He raised his eyebrows.

Ren stared at her blankly. "Later today..?"

Ruby shook her head. "Yeah!"

"I'm not sure what you mean," Ren admitted. "But I'll be on the hill past the east gardens if you want me for anything."

"Wait, the hill past the gardens?" Jaune asked. "Isn't that technically in the Emerald Forest?"

Ren nodded, bowing his head again.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Jaune asked.

"It's rare to see Grimm so close to Beacon," Ren said. "I can take care of myself. I would sense them coming."

Ruby frowned. "You can sense Grimm? They don't have auras."

Ren smiled. "No, but they make a lot of noise."

Jaune laughed, and turned to Ruby. "So, are we off to see Ozpin or what?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "Sounds wonderful." She stole one last glance at Lie Ren's eyes - _wow_ , they were like little purple nebulae being sucked into tiny black holes - and they took off.

"Oh, wait, Ruby," Ren called out to them. Ruby froze.

"Mhmm?" she said.

"Would you know what happened to the cherry tree in the quad, by the assembly hall?"

Ruby and Jaune exchanged glances.

"Hmm," she hummed.

"Funny story," Jaune said.

"I see," said Ren. "I'm sure it's very funny. You must tell me the story some time, then."

"Hehe, yeah..." Jaune mumbled.

The two of them exchanged glances and sighed. "Ozpin first," Ruby said.

"Yeah."

Talking to Ozpin about the tree was one thing, but neither of them wanted to break the news to Ren. Ren was so sweet and innocent, how could they do that to him? Plus, Ren was Ren. _He's kinda, kinda, hmm..._ Ruby didn't know how to describe him.

"He's Ren," Ruby decided.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"Uh, nothing."

* * *

12:15 PM

As they approached Beacon's large central tower, Ruby realized she'd never been to the top before. She'd been in the central part of the tower, which housed the CCT hub. Ozpin's office was at the very top. At night, bright green lights could be seen, the famous light of Beacon tower. It was said that the ghoulish lights and sinister machinery were built to keep away the Grimm. Ruby had always thought the tower was beautiful and serene.

When they entered the base, Ruby pressed the button for the elevator.

"Do you think there are stairs to the top?" Jaune asked.

"It would be a really long flight of stairs. I don't think even I could do that," she said.

After a minute, the elevator arrived.

"Are there any other elevators, at least?" He asked.

"Nope. This is the only one."

They walked in. The panel had a large number of buttons, one separated far above the rest.

"So we could trap Ozpin in his office if we just, say, pressed the button for every floor?"

Ruby made a face, pressing the button for Ozpin's office. "Why would you want to do that?"

"No," Jaune raised his hands, then dipped with the changing inertial reference frame. "I wouldn't. I probably wouldn't. But it just seems like a design flaw."

"Maybe there's a secret back-up elevator, then."

"Hmm."

"Let's keep an eye out for any secret passages in his office."

"Secret passages?" Jaune asked. They passed the 16th floor.

"You know, like, bookcases with suspicious scratch marks on the floor. That sort of thing."

"Ohh," Jaune said. "Or hidden levers under his desk."

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed.

"I wonder what kind of furniture is in his office."

"Well, he's got to be quite wealthy, right," said Ruby. "I bet there are a ton of paintings and stuff, maybe some class photos, awards, and a couch."

"A couch?" Jaune asked, doubtful.

"A really, really nice couch," Ruby said. "I really like couches. Nice, soft, fluffy ones. If it were my office I'd have one."

"If it were your office there'd be gears and gadgets everywhere," Jaune said.

Ruby laughed. "I'm never going to have an office, though. No way."

"No?"

They passed the 34th floor.

"Nope. I don't want a desk job."

"Huh."

Some time passed. "Hey, Ruby, do you think -"

 _Ding!_ The doors opened. Jaune hadn't even noticed they'd slowed their ascent.

And there was the man himself.

"No receptionist even," Jaune muttered.

They stood there, in the elevator, taking in the scene before them. It was not what Ruby had expected; there was no lavish furnature, no paintings, no couch. Not even any bookshelf to hide a secret passage. All there was was a desk, and the city of Vale behind it.

One desk, one man, three chairs, one elevator, one enormous window, and the thing that was on the ceiling above them.

Ruby gasped as she took in the massive assembly of gears and cogs and machinery of various sorts on the ceiling. It would be more accurate to say it _was_ the ceiling. It was utterly breathtaking; she couldn't even begin to imagine how much perfectionism had gone into the metalwork. She couldn't even understand what its _purpose_ was. But somehow, it seemed warm and welcoming to her. It felt familiar, even. She held Crescent Rose tightly at her waist.

 _Ding!_ The elevator announced it was about to leave. "No - wait!" Jaune reached out to stop the door. Ozpin gave them a bemused expression, looking up from his coffee and paperwork.

 _Smash_. Crescent Rose unfurled and jammed the door. Sparks flew as the metal ground together. Eventually the doors surrendered, opening again to allow them out.

"Graceful as always, Ms. Rose," Ozpin smiled.

Ruby felt her face turn red. "Uh," she started.

"What brings you and Mr. Arc here to see me today?" He nodded politely at Jaune.

They stepped out of the elevator. The doors swiftly shut behind them, locking them out.

"Ruby and I -" Jaune started.

"Mostly me," Ruby admitted.

"We chopped down Ren's favourite tree," Jaune explained.

"In the quad, by the assembly hall," Ruby continued.

"Glynda -"

"- Professor Goodwitch -" Ruby corrected.

"- Said it was your favourite tree, too," Jaune finished.

"Actually, she just said he planted it in memory of a friend," Ruby pointed out, "not that it was his favourite tree."

Ozpin blinked, and took a sip of his coffee. "She said I planted that tree?"

"Yeah - oh," Ruby paused, remembering something. "How old are you?"

Ozpin took another sip of his coffee, and then he stood up and walked over to the window, looking down at the courtyard beneath them. "I was certainly born after any of those trees were planted," he said.

"Who planted the tree, then?" Ruby asked.

"Who planted those trees is not important. However, they were all planted in memory of a dear friend -"

" _Whose_ dear friend?" Ruby asked, impatiently.

"- So we ought to treat them with respect," Ozpin finished, and turned back to them. "Now, I'm sure Professor Goodwitch already gave you both a slap on the wrist for this, but thank you for informing me personally."

Jaune and Ruby exchanged glances. She hadn't slapped them, actually.

"I expect your scythe - what was its name again?" Ozpin asked, sitting down.

"Crescent Rose."

"Crescent Rose," Ozpin repeated. He took a sip of coffee. "I expect it was involved in the process of obliterating the tree?"

" _Obliterating_ is a bit much," Jaune said defensively.

"Yes, it was me and Crescent Rose primarily," Ruby acknowledged.

Ozpin chuckled. "I did say that you wielded one of the most dangerous weapons ever created."

Ruby frowned. "Why do you say that? I made her myself."

"Her?" Jaune asked. He recalled she had a tendency to personify her weapon. _I took her last name._ Jaune gulped, remembering his dream.

"It," Ruby corrected.

Ozpin brought his cane around and tapped it on the desk. "What is your semblance, Ms. Rose?"

"Uhh," Ruby paused. "Well I can go really fast and stuff."

"And rose petals!" Jaune added. "It doesn't even make sense that rose petals is her semblance. But it is pretty cool."

Ruby sighed inwardly. The roses were a bittersweet feature.

"Is that all?" Ozpin asked.

"Yes - why do you ask?"

Ozpin's rich, hazel-brown eyes focussed on her. They weren't beautiful purple vortices like Ren's, but they did have an intensity to them that made Ruby felt like he wasn't just looking at her - he was staring right into her soul. Ruby gulped. He couldn't possibly know about her secret, but still, she felt like there was nothing she could hide.

"Any weapon can become incredibly dangerous in the right hands," Ozpin said. It was similar to what Professor Goodwitch had said earlier. Ruby's stomach gurgled once more.

She patted her tummy. _There, there._

"Are you saying Ruby's semblance makes Crescent Rose so dangerous?" Jaune asked.

Ozpin glanced at him as though he'd forgotten he was even there.

"Or are you saying there is more to my semblance than I know?" Ruby asked. The idea seemed crazy. She knew herself through and through. Sort of. Well, there were definitely some parts of her she didn't understand, but her semblance wasn't one of them.

Ozpin's eyes twinkled. "While you two are here," he said, changing the subject, "there is something I would like to ask. I've been taking a census of sorts."

"A census?" Jaune asked.

Ozpin nodded. "Where do you see yourselves, years from now, after graduating?"

Jaune thought for a moment. "As a Huntsman, so, hunting Grimm, I guess," he said.

"Not all Huntsmen end up hunting Grimm," Ozpin said, glancing at Ruby. Ruby wondered if he knew about how many Grimm she'd taken down when she was back on Patch. Hunting had been something like a part-time job for her. Signal Academy had taken record of it, she knew that. So he probably did.

"For example," Ozpin continued, "You could attain a teaching role. Or enter politics. Hunting is just one possibility."

Jaune frowned. "Isn't the whole point of becoming a Huntsman to protect humanity from the Grimm, though? We're spread thin as-is," his voice raised by a decibal. "We should be encouraging as many people as we can to join the fight. Just last week I read in the papers, a whole village just south of here was overrun."

"Have you ever played chess, Mr. Arc?"

Jaune shook his head, visibly frustrated that Ozpin was shying away from the topic.

"Or you, Ms. Rose?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes, a long time ago, with my sister. I'm not very good, though."

Ozpin's face became gentler. "Neither am I."

"Really?" Ruby asked. "I would have thought you'd be a grandmaster, or something."

Ozpin smiled. "I'm flattered."

"What does chess have to do with fighting Grimm?" Jaune asked.

"I have never won a game of chess by playing defensively," Ozpin said.

 _Have you ever won a game of chess?_ Ruby wanted to ask.

"Well, that makes sense, the object is to take out the opponent's king piece, isn't it?" Jaune asked. "I've never played but I had the rules explained to me once. It seems very complicated."

"Do the Grimm have a king we can take out?" Ruby asked, curious.

"That remains to be seen. Ruby, you haven't answered."

"Answered?"

"What do you see yourself as, years from now?" Ozpin prompted. Her silver eyes reflected in his glasses.

Ruby glanced away. One answer in particular popped into her head. But she shook her head; bringing that up with Ozpin seemed like a bad idea.

"A - a Huntress. Protecting the people, out in the field."

"Ruby doesn't want a desk job," Jaune explained.

"Is that all?" Ozpin said. Ruby found him to be a rather probing person. "There are no other details you have in mind?"

"Maybe instead of being a lone Huntress..." she said, trailing off.

Ozpin raised his eyebrows.

"I'd be a Huntress with my sister," she decided.

"Are you getting along well with Ms. Xiao Long?"

"Yes, of course," Ruby nodded emphatically. She could feel Ozpin searching her face. He was very probing indeed.

"Um," Ruby added, "We get along _pretty_ well." She looked down.

Ozpin smiled sympathetically. "I had a sister."

Ruby glanced up at him.

"We didn't get along well," he added.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ruby said. She and Jaune shifted awkwardly.

He pulled his cane back and rested the tip on the floor. Then he leaned back and looked up at the machinery on the ceiling. "Would you look at that, it's lunch. Perhaps you two should be running along, then?"

Ruby looked up at the gears, too. How did he discern the time from looking at that monstrosity? Was it a clock?

"What, uh," she said. "What does it do?" She pointed her finger upward.

Ozpin glanced back at her. "It solves problems."

Ruby wondered if Ozpin enjoyed being mysterious, or if he really did have a good reason to never give her a solid answer on anything.

"So is there something I should know about my semblance?" Ruby asked. "Or Crescent Rose? Or chess? Or - you?"

Ozpin shrugged. "I certainly wouldn't know about any of those, least of all myself. But keep searching. I'm sure in time you will find the answers to all of those questions."

 _Ding!_ The elevator doors opened. Ruby and Jaune glanced at each other, and got up to leave. Nobody was in the elevator. Ozpin must have called it here somehow.

"Have a good day, Ms. Rose, Mr. Arc." They entered the elevator. _Ding!_

The man sipped his coffee once more, and the doors sealed themselves forcefully.

* * *

12:45 PM

The button for the bottom floor had already been lit up by the time Ruby and Jaune entered the elevator.

"That was..." Ruby trailed off. _Interesting? Weird? What was the point of all that, even?_

"Frustrating," Jaune finished her thought for her. His brow was furrowed.

"Huh?" Ruby asked. She looked at her friend, studying his face. Something was bothering him.

"Something weird is going on here in Beacon," he said. "They're teaching us to fight Huntsmen and Huntresses, not Grimm."

"They are?"

"Yeah, think about it. What was your last class on?"

Ruby thought back to Glynda's class on Friday afternoon. "We were reviewing torque and angular motion in combat physics."

Jaune nodded. He had that class, too. "Right, and, what was the example Glynda kept coming back to?"

"Uh..." There were a bunch of diagrams Glynda had drawn on the blackboard. Various arrows indicating forces applied to different points of... "The human body. That's important, though; all Huntsmen and Huntresses need expert control over the kinematics of their bodies in combat."

"Okay," Jaune admitted, "but why have we never studied the motion of Grimm?"

"Not enough data?" Ruby posited.

"Maybe. How about before that, in Oobleck's class. We were studying historical battles. Humans against humans. Humans against faunus. Why haven't we studied Huntsmen against Grimm?"

Ruby frowned. The elevator slowed as they approached the floor for the CCT hub. "Actually, we have, in Port's class -"

Jaune shook his head, "Really? Name one thing you've learned in Port's class."

"Well, you said you didn't know what a Boarbatusk was before his class."

"Yeah, but I'm worthless!" Jaune smiled frivolously. "Name one thing _you've_ learned."

 _Ding!_ Open. _Ding!_ Closed. They had a new passenger, not someone they recognized.

"Well -" Ruby started

Jaune stuck up his finger. "Other than all of Port's personal accomplishments."

Ruby sighed. "Okay, you may have a point there."

"Yeah," Jaune agreed. "And then there was what Ozpin said."

"About chess?" Ruby asked. They both glanced at the student who had joined them in the elevator. She glanced nervously back at them.

"Yeah," Jaune continued. "He treats it all like a game, Ruby. Human lives, Ruby."

The student with them coughed. Jaune noticed her tail wagging anxiously.

"Uh," Jaune said quietly. "And faunus lives."

Her tail continued to wag, slightly more anxiously. She gave them both an embarrassed look.

 _Ding!_ Bottom floor. They filed out. Their co-passenger hurried away, looking back once.

"Well," Ruby said, "I'm sure by second year we'll be covering more advanced material. And I believe Ozpin knows what he's doing."

"Why? Who is he, even?"

Ruby pictured the man's eyes again. They felt strangely comforting to her.

"I don't know," she said, opening the door to the outside.

"Then why do you trust him?"

"I just feel like I should, you know?" Ruby smiled.

Jaune stopped. Ruby stopped, too, and turned to face him. The uncertainty in his eyes right now, although the cause was different, it reminded her of how Weiss looked this morning.

"There are some things you just feel, Jaune," she said, putting her hand to her chest. "Some things you feel and you don't know why. You just have to accept it."

Weiss had told her that her body wasn't the source of her problems. Maybe Weiss was right, maybe she wasn't. But she had a friend here.

Jaune frowned. "I don't know, Ruby."

 _Friends_ , Ruby corrected. _I have friends here_. She didn't know why she felt the way she did, but maybe why or why not wasn't important.

Without any warning, Ruby stepped closer to Jaune and wrapped him in a hug.

"Wh-what!" Jaune exclaimed, turning rigid. "What was that for?"

Ruby stepped back and shrugged, smiling. Jaune's messy blonde hair reflected the sun above them, practically glowing. It was pretty.

Jaune was her friend. Weiss was, whatever - probably on her side? Blake was, too. Yang was going to take some work. And Ruby herself, she wasn't crazy, but she still didn't know what she was. Maybe Ren could help with that.

But for now, Jaune was her friend. For whatever it counted for, it counted.

Ruby beamed. "There doesn't have to be a reason."

* * *

1:00 PM

 _Ding!_ Glynda stepped into Ozpin's office.

"Ironwood will be arriving soon," she said. _Ding!_

Ozpin nodded. He was staring at a photograph in his hands. There was some writing on the back of it, the side facing her.

"And the exchange students will begin arriving here on Tuesday," she said, stepping closer.

Ozpin nodded. He didn't look up at her.

"We also received another message from Qrow Branwen."

Glynda sighed. Was he even listening to her?

"He's requesting radio silence."

No response. She sighed and sternly walked right up to his desk, leaning over the table.

"He mentioned his sister."

Ozpin looked up at her, finally. "Raven Branwen? Are you sure?"

Glynda nodded.

"She's never shown up before."

Glynda raised one eyebrow. "Never? Not once, after her disappearance?"

"This will be the first time." Ozpin's eyes widened. "Please keep an eye on Ms. Xiao Long."

Glynda nodded, and eyed him steadily.

"Your sister is -" she started.

"My sister is gone," he finished.

Glynda stood up straight. "She's out there. You could talk to her, if you wanted to," she said, slowly. _We're still waiting for her to make her next move_.

Ozpin shook his head. "It wouldn't be right. Thank you, Professor - Glynda."

Glynda bowed her head. "We can discuss matters further when the rest arrive."

Ozpin waved his cane at her dismissively. He seemed to be in a bad mood. Before leaving, Glynda took a furtive glance at the photograph on his desk. He'd turned it face-down, but she could read the faded handwriting.

 _To the best little brother in the world._

As Glynda walked away, she smiled. Ozpin was often stone-faced and clouded, even to her, but occasionally there were moments when his humanity shone through.

* * *

 **A/N: What? Author's notes? Dang, that's annoying.**

 **Just wanted to offer a shout-out. To any of you who dislike the direction this story is going, fear not! Fanfic author and helpful reviewer Tusk Act IV has offered up an alternative secret for Ruby in their one-shot "Rebus Rubus Rosus," which gives things a different spin. Content warning: it is incredibly weird and even disturbing. But it is amusing. I will probably not regret this.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

1:15 PM

Weiss was eating lunch in her dorm room when Yang finally made an appearance. Breakfast may have been slightly lonely, but for some reason the only other representative of either Team RWBY or Team JNPR who had made it to lunch was Jaune. When he had brought up the subject of the dance, Weiss decided it was high time to leave, bringing only a napkin and her bowl of ramen noodles with her. The closest dish that it resembled in Atlas had been spaghetti, which Weiss had enjoyed as a kid, so she figured ramen would be okay. It turns out it was much better.

So Weiss, surprised, looked up, ramen noodles hanging from her mouth, as Yang Xiao Long barged into the room.

"Mphyang!" Weiss exclaimed, her mouth full. She swallowed and wiped her face down with the napkin she'd brought.

Yang had her scroll to her ear, and with her free hand she raised a finger to silence Weiss.

"Uh-huh," Yang said to whoever was on the other side, then she paused. "Really? Just the necklace? Are you sure?"

Weiss heard some static crackling. Yang brought the scroll away from her ear, wincing.

"Ohh-okay," she said apologetically. "And it was definitely her? The same woman from earlier?" Yang sounded desperate. She braced herself against the closed door.

More crackling. It grew louder and more solid.

"Sorry, you're breaking up - what was that? Coco? Are you still there?"

The crackling stopped. Weiss saw the red light indicating the other end had gone dead.

"Damn it," Yang swore, and tossed the scroll at her bed angrily. She put her hand to her head. Weiss studied her; she'd never seen her so vexed before.

Then Yang looked around, regaining her bearings, and noticed Weiss again. Her face started to lighten. "Where's Blakey?"

"Bl - 'Blakey'?" Weiss repeated disbelievingly. "That's a ridiculous pet name."

"Well she is a kitty-cat. Of course she gets a cutesy pet name."

Weiss winced. Blake would have been on her toes about that remark.

"Nevermind Blake," Weiss said; "where have you been? We've all been worried about you!"

"You have?" Yang asked, surprised. She pushed herself off the door she'd been leaning on and advanced slowly toward her.

"Well, I can't speak for the others, but -"

"Awwe, how cute," Yang cooed. "The charming princess is worried about me!"

"I'm not actually a princess," Weiss objected. Though she couldn't deny, "charming" was an apt description.

Yang swerved from her advance and plopped herself on the bottom bunk, yawning. Weiss couldn't gauge her mood - she'd just had what seemed to be a serious and intense conversation over the CCT when she walked in, but now she seemed to be pushing it down.

"Has Ruby talked to you?" Weiss asked, turning back to her homework.

"Ruby?" Yang repeated, sleepily. She curled up on the bed.

"Yes, Ruby Rose. Your sister. Apparently." She added the last part quietly. The two kept saying they were siblings but they hardly looked anything alike.

"Ruby Rose..." Yang trailed off. Weiss glanced at her. She was falling asleep.

Weiss sighed. Perhaps they looked different because they were adopted. Her father would not be happy to know her team comprised faunus filth and trash put up for adoption, and that her own partner was a freak.

She frowned, putting her hand to her head. It was harsh of her even to think that her father would say that. Though he probably would. She'd heard him use all of those descriptions before, and much, much worse.

Weiss stood up and grabbed one of the spare comforters in the corner of the room. She knew it wasn't all that cold, and Yang's semblance could keep her warm, but it pained her to see her friend lying on the bed without anything over her.

As she draped the comforter over her, Yang curled up tightly, breathing out her sister's name once more.

* * *

Ruby Rose wrapped her blanket around her sister as she snuggled closer to her. It was dark; the ceiling light had fizzled away yesterday and their dad hadn't had time to visit the Dust shop. They still had the standing lamp behind the couch and the light of the black-and-white screen in front of them.

She felt Yang absentmindedly run her fingers through her long hair as they watched the movie in front of them, causing Ruby to shift contentedly. The film was an old one. Since the CCT had taken off, tons of ancient low-budget movie-theatre productions started being rebroadcast. They were cheesy action flicks for the most part. There was also a slot for romance movies, but none of the residents of the Rose-Xiao Long household had any interest in that sappy stuff.

 _"Captain, the Grimm have broken into - oh, ouch! I am slain!"_

This was some quality material. Blood splattered across the guardswoman's face as plastic Beowolf paws appeared from off-screen.

Stretching out, she nestled deeper into her older sister, careful not to crush her. Although Ruby was only nine years old, she had seen many photographs of the Grimm in her school, so she could tell the ones on-screen weren't real. She was envious of her sister, though; Yang had just turned twelve, which meant she'd soon be taken on her first hunt by Uncle Qrow.

 _"Oh, Lilac, I will never forget you! Take this, you monsters. And this! Aaaah."_

The names confirmed that it didn't pre-date the war at least, but it could still easily have been sixty years old.

 _"Alright maggots, listen up. Do you want to live forever? No? Then, into the breach once more!"_

Ruby couldn't help but be impressed at the Captain of the Guard's bravery as he lifted his sword high into the air, leading the charge. She breathed out blissfully, a cloud forming in front of her mouth. She wondered if she'd ever be a hero of that calibre some day.

Since it was deep in wintertime now, the house was chilly. She could feel her sister starting to shiver. Ruby peeled her eyes away from the screen and lifted herself up so she could look at her. She hadn't noticed it during the intense fight scene, but her sister had started to cry.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sweetly.

Yang looked at her and sniffled. "I miss her."

Seeing her beloved older sister distraught, Ruby almost felt the urge to cry, too. Even though she only knew their mom from photographs and faded memories, when her sister missed her, she felt it along side her. She laid her head on her older sister's side, trying to comfort her. Yang wrapped her arms around her in response.

"Dad will be home soon," Ruby said.

"Yeah. He'll bring Dust. We'll get the furnace on in no time."

On screen, the Captain of the Guard ran his sword through an Ursa, then pulled a lever causing the sword to extend itself into a glaive, skewering a Boarbatusk behind the bear.

 _"Sir! The Lady of Vale has demanded your audience."_

With incredible strength, the Captain of the Guard lifted the Grimm shish kebab over his head and smashed it into a Creep that had been stalking behind him.

 _"The Lady will just have to wait. I have a taste for vengeance. Vengeance!"_

The image of the Captain winked out as the screen turned to white noise.

"Mmph. Do you want to?" Ruby asked. Most likely the receptor behind the set needed adjusting.

Yang ruffled her hair. Her hands felt colder now. "Maybe that's enough for tonight. You won't sleep."

"Okay," Ruby said, as Yang reached over her for the remote control. She pressed a button and the screen went dark.

"Dad will be here soon. Let's get some sleep," Yang decided.

"Okay. Goodnight, sis. I love you."

Yang reached for the lamp string behind them and pulled it.

"Goodnight. I love you, too, Ruby Rose."

* * *

1:30 PM

Ren had felt the aura of a troubled but simple soul next to him for some half-an-hour. It hadn't said anything to him, just sat there, soaking in the sun and perhaps whatever comfort his own aura offered.

Eventually, Ruby shifted, just barely perceptibly. Ren opened his eyes and looked over at her. She was staring off into the Emerald Forest, her arms wrapped around her knees, her eyes a simmering mixture of nostalgia and anxiety. He'd once observed the same expression on another pair of eyes he cared about, beautiful burnt copper irises he hadn't seen in a year.

"What troubles you?" Ren asked.

Ruby looked at him, apprehensive.

"It's easier," Ren said, "if you assume the position I showed you."

She offered a weak smile and rearranged herself, crossing her legs and resting the backs of her hands on them.

"But altogether it doesn't really matter," he admitted.

Ruby looked at him questioningly.

"Sit however you like; your soul is still yours to explore, no matter the configuration of the body."

She smiled, but remained still all the same. She'd come to see him on four occasions before this, and it had become clear to him from what she'd said that her body was a great source of pain for her.

They remained still for some time. Then Ruby finally spoke.

"Have you ever encountered someone with two souls?" she asked.

Ren thought about this. Silver eyes looked at him the way copper ones never would.

"I think that's quite common," he decided.

"Really? Somebody with two auras?" Ruby asked.

"Not two auras."

"There's a difference?" Ruby asked.

Ren nodded.

"What's the distinction?"

Ren shrugged. "I'm not sure it's my place to say."

Ruby sat in contemplation. A breeze rustled through the trees.

"I think I have two souls," she said.

Ren closed his eyes and slowed his breath, feeling the earth under his palms. Theirs were the strongest presences, but he could feel the life around them in the blades of grass, the little insects, even the hill itself. A billion tiny voices contributing to the susurrus in the wind. And Ruby, too; but hers was strong and loud and resounding and brilliant with just a hint of hesitation. Even her aura felt familiar, not just her eyes.

"I think so, too," Ren agreed.

"You think I do, or you do?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Both," Ren decided.

Suddenly, the loud and brilliant voice was much closer, right in his ear. Now he could hear: there was noise in the signal, dissonance in the simple soul.

"I only sense one," she said.

"I haven't taught you how to detect auras yet."

"I can feel yours."

Another breeze came; the trees in the forest rustled; the susurrus entered a sforzando and then the wind quickly died out.

"If someone can have two souls," Ren said carefully, "I don't think it would be easy to tell."

"Then how can you tell?"

"Apparently, I am the sun and the moon." But his voice couldn't capture the elegance and beauty of the voice that had said those words to him.

"No, I meant about me."

The wind was still. The fugue of the grass and the insects faded away to nothing until the only motion in the air that was left was her breathing. Irregular, no consistent tempo; strong and natural; it was exactly the same.

"There's a lot going on in your head. So there must be two souls."

"You can read minds?" she said, louder. Her breathing was the same but the voice was different.

"No," he almost laughed, but the stillness and serenity of their surroundings had to be preserved. "I don't need to read minds to be able to tell that."

But in many ways, she was easy to read; not like sheet music, but like a melody that was simple to understand and quick to pick up. Ren felt his fingers twitching, eager to feel the strings.

"Teach me how to sense auras," Ruby said, softly, atonally. It wasn't a demand, not even a request.

"Sure."

The breeze came back, and so did the chattering of all the voices.

"Well?" Ruby asked.

"Can you feel my aura yet?"

"I told you that I could."

"You already know I'm here. Can you feel any other auras?"

"There's no one else here."

There were only two of them, and a myriad of small dots of light.

"If you could sense auras perhaps you would think differently."

"Is someone stalking us? Is someone watching?"

 _Somebody might find out_. That was the only explanation he'd gotten.

"Ren? Hello? I don't see anybody else here."

"Perhaps this is too much for now."

"No! I want to learn."

Losing focus just for a moment, the staccato pinpricks of aura quickly blurred into a dull background. Ren decided sensing the softer, smaller auras would take a lot of work for her. They should start simple.

"Can you feel your own aura?"

"I think so..."

"Describe yourself."

"What?"

"Describe yourself," Ren insisted.

"Describe my aura? That's hard, I don't know what words there are to describe auras. It's like, how do you describe a taste? Or a colour? It's just something you kind of feel."

"Describe yourself," Ren repeated. "Don't worry too much about your aura for now. Tell me who you are."

"Okay... well," Ruby paused, thinking. "I'm Ruby Rose."

Ren smiled. "That's your name."

"Yes it is," she acknowledged playfully.

"What else?"

"Um, I go to Beacon. I use a sniper rifle scythe. Is this really necessary?" She seemed a little bothered.

"What do you look like?"

She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Why does that matter?"

"Do you want sense auras or not?"

"Yes, but," she grunted, annoyed, "why is this important?"

"You'll find out why at the end."

"Fine," she said.

"What do you look like?"

"I have... I have black hair, with some red. Grey eyes. Um..." she trailed off, fermata.

"Good, keep going."

"I'm small. Much shorter than my sister. We look pretty silly together, honestly." Ruby brushed her hair away again, this time tucking it behind her ear. "I guess I have a small nose. Well, not that small." She shrugged. "I wear a combat skirt. And a cloak. The cloak's pretty cool actually. My uncle made it; he can make anything. He's like, a master maker of things. I've got to learn more from him." She turned to Ren. "What do you want me to say?"

Ren had forgotten that Ruby could be quite talkative. He'd thought that it would make her uncomfortable to describe herself, but it seemed she found it easy to talk. Maybe she was using words to hide her feelings.

"Don't say anything. Picture yourself."

"Picture myself?"

"Yes. Close your eyes."

"Picture myself doing what?"

"Sitting here, as you are."

"With you?"

"Alone."

"Okay," she said weakly. Then she shut her eyes. Ren looked at her closely. She was fine, at first. Calm and composed and as still as he was when Ren played the violin for him. But then, agitation. Uncertainty. Her eyes flickered.

"Okay, I pictured myself. Now what?"

"Just hold it."

Ren could see Ruby's hands tightening. She shifted, again. "For how long?"

He chose not to answer. Eventually, Ruby opened her eyes and leaned back, tossing her arm over her head for shade.

"You weren't supposed to open your eyes," Ren said.

She shrugged.

"Why did you stop?"

She shrugged again.

Ren turned back to face the Emerald Forest, and closed his eyes. Ruby Rose was a difficult to pry open.

"Ren?" Ruby asked.

"Why did you stop?" he asked.

"I didn't want to."

"You didn't want to stop?"

"I didn't want to picture my body."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't... like it." She said the words as though she were forcing them out; she was disgusted even just to talk about it.

Ren sighed. They were getting somewhere at least.

"I _hate_ this body!" She screamed, suddenly. A bird nestled in a tree at the base of the hill bolted.

He opened his eyes and looked at her gently. She was disgusted, frustrated, her aura flaring.

Suddenly quiet again, she said, "I hate this body. I hate being this small and helpless _girl_." Her face screwed up.

He waited for a full minute, counting out the guilty seconds before saying anything, just in case she had more to add.

"You want to become stronger?" He prompted. He knew that would miss the mark.

"No," she said. "Yes. I want to... It doesn't matter. It's impossible anyway."

"Maybe it isn't," Ren offered.

"You have n-no idea," she stammered.

"I might."

"No, you wouldn't," she insisted forcefully. "Nobody could possibly know. There's nobody else like me."

"You haven't met everybody in the world."

She snorted dismissively. "It doesn't matter. Even if there were someone else like me, so what? There's nothing I can do. This isn't the problem," she pointed at herself. "It's here," she tapped her head. "I'm screwed up in here."

"Don't say that," Ren said.

"Why not? It's true. I'm a freak."

"No, you're not. I don't think you're a freak."

"You don't know what I am."

"I know you're not a freak."

Ruby glared at him. Then her face became softer.

"What can I do, Ren?"

"Maybe all you need is something simple."

"Like what?"

"Maybe you could dye your hair? Or style it differently?"

"My hair is fine." She smiled, almost.

"A change of clothes, then?" Ren suggested.

She shrugged nonchalantly, and tugged her cloak over her arm.

"Yeah, maybe," she said. "I don't know. I guess my real enemy is myself."

"You can change that, too."

"I can?" She looked at him, some amount of hope entering her.

"Move somewhere different. Take on a new name."

"I can't go somewhere different. My family is here."

"I thought your family was on an island."

"My sister is here."

Ren thought about this.

"You don't have to leave, then. You can change your identity and still stay here."

Ruby thought about this, too.

"People would know me, though," she said.

"And?"

"Wouldn't that defeat the purpose?"

"You'd still know you were different. That's what matters."

"Hmm." Ruby crossed her arms.

"If you want me to call you something else, just say so."

He'd been told something about roses, once.

* * *

They sat there for a very long time, until the sun had loosened the leash on the shadows of the trees of the Emerald Forest and they'd crawled part-way up the hill.

It took Ruby a while to digest what Ren was saying. It was so different from how Weiss had reacted. This was the first time anyone had ever told her that these feeling were okay. That she could embrace them, not ignore them. Deep down, they still troubled her greatly, but never before had she felt like there might actually be hope.

"I'll think about it," she finally said. She wasn't sure he'd even remember what his prompt had been.

He looked lost in thought, his violet eyes swirling. Or maybe that was just her imagination.

"In that case, friend," he said, standing up; "let's stare at some trees together."

"Trees?" she repeated.

He gave her a long hard look. "Yes, and maybe you could tell me about what happened to that cherry tree."

"You don't know?" she asked. Then gulped.

"I'm stumped."

"Uh -" Then she paused. Was that a pun? In his brilliant, violet eyes, there was just a hint of mischief.

For a second his shoulders began to shake. And then he was laughing.

"It wasn't _that_ funny," Ruby chided. But she was smiling, too. Yang would have taken this as a personal challenge.

Ren reached down to offer her a hand. She declined, standing up on her own.

"So, trees?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," he agreed. "Let's go look at trees."

* * *

8:00 PM

After dinner, the two of them returned to the dorm.

"Alright, that's it for today," she smiled at him. She pulled out her scroll and unlocked the door.

He bowed his head, his eyes smiling for him.

Weiss opened the door. "Oh, Ruby!" Then she ushered her in.

"Hi Weiss," Ruby said. Then her eyes flicked back to Ren. "Ren, thank you."

"Any time."

Ruby stood there in the doorway, gazing at Ren.

Weiss glanced back and forth between them.

"Um," she said. Ruby snapped her eyes away from Ren's and looked at her partner.

"So," Weiss said, standing there awkwardly. "I did all the questions, Ruby. And I did them all perfectly," she boasted.

"Yay, Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed.

There was another awkward pause. Ren was still standing outside the door.

"Are you two..." Weiss started, then trailed off. "Are you two going to the dance together, or..?"

Ren and Ruby blushed. (Ren only blushed a little.)

"N-no way," Ruby said quickly, flustered. She had told Weiss earlier, she hadn't "like" liked anybody yet. Had her partner already forgotten?

"Ah. Ren, you're going with Nora, then?" Weiss inquired.

"Oh, no," he said, sounding almost apologetic. "She and I aren't together."

Ruby thought she heard a loud thump coming from the JNPR room.

"Then, are you -"

The JNPR door burst open, revealing an excited Nora Valkyrie. More excited than usual, that is.

"Ren! Did I hear you got a date?" she grinned.

"No," Ren said, innocently. "You did not hear that."

"You're still banished," she reiterated.

"That's unfortunate," he said. But now his tone of voice was almost patronizing compared to earlier in the day.

Weiss crossed her arms. "I'm surprised you don't have a date. You're the talk of the town."

"Am I?" Ren said, as if he didn't know how many lingering glances he got.

"Oh," Nora laughed. "He's not interested."

Weiss smirked. "Really? Nobody's ever caught your fancy?" She looked at Ruby dead in the eye.

" _Weiss_ ," Ruby whispered sternly.

"Well, there was -" Ren started to admit. Then Nora cut him off, putting her hand over his mouth.

"Hoah boy Rennie, I think it's time to move away from that one!"

The four of them looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds.

"Right," Weiss said. "Well, it's nice to see you, Nora Valkyrie, Ren Lie."

"Schnee Weiss," Nora responded sweetly.

"Indeed," Weiss coughed. "Ruby, are you coming in, or..?"

Ruby nodded. Somehow, this particular gathering of four people was rather uncomfortable. She stepped inside.

"Bye," Ren said, through Nora's fingers. Then Weiss shut the door on Team NR.

There was an eery silence that penetrated the duskiness of the dorm room. The sun had just set and once again a dark purple hue bathed the campus, filtering in through the window. Weiss' desk lamp was the only real source of light.

"Uh..." Ruby started. Weiss raised her eyebrows, amused. "So do you want me to look at the questions you did?"

"Sure. but..." Weiss glanced pointedly at her sister, who was lying on Blake's bed.

 _Now?_ Ruby mouthed at Weiss.

Weiss raised her hands innocently. "Do you want me to leave, so you can..?"

" _She's sleeping_ ," Ruby whispered.

Weiss shrugged. "Okay, fine."

Ruby walked quietly over to Weiss' desk and took a flipped through the work as Weiss hovered over her. Weiss cold hands gripped the back of the chair rigidly. In the back of her mind, Ruby worried what might happen if she said anything critical. Fortunately all of Weiss' work looked reasonable, even if she didn't have the answer sheet on hand to compare. She looked up at her partner behind her and nodded in approval.

"Good job!" she said. "But now I have to do my assignment."

Ruby pulled out her History text from the drawer, adjusted the desk lamp, and assumed her usual homework position on the floor. Some books thudded next to her.

"Here," Weiss said. "I found these in the library."

Ruby glanced over them. _A Brief History of the Faunus Uprisings in Mistral_ ; _Tooth and Claw: The Violent Nature of the Faunus_ ; _An Impartial Account of the War Against Faunus Savages._ She doubted how impartial the lattermost book really was; it had the Schnee Dust Company logo branded on it.

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed, grinning. "Awwe, thanks, that's so sweet of you!"

Weiss had her arms crossed and was looking indifferently away from her, which was why she didn't have time to react when Ruby pounced on her and pulled her into a hug.

"N-no problem," Weiss said. She squirmed out of Ruby's grasp, her normally sheet-white skin now a noticeably redder hue. "You are my partner after all; it wouldn't look good for me if you failed your classes," she explained.

"Uh-huh," Ruby said knowingly. "Well thank you very much."

Weiss pursed her lips. "Well? Go write your essay."

Ruby stepped back innocently and then tossed herself on the floor by the books, lying on her stomach in the spotlight of the desk lamp. She cracked her knuckles and flipped open the one that claimed to be impartial.

* * *

10:00 PM

Ruby had already written a page and a half on the subject by the time she felt Yang's eyes on her. She glanced away from the illustration in the book depicting a grizzly faunus ripping apart several young human children and met her sister's lavender eyes.

For some reason, Ruby expected Yang to be cold and angry at her, since Ruby had dodged her offer to talk that morning. But instead Yang was gazing at her affectionately, in the same way she always had, since Ruby was a toddler.

Ruby blinked questioningly at her.

Yang smiled and brought her arm out to rest her head on her hand. She was still lying in Blake's bed. Blake hadn't shown up yet, which is the only reason she was getting away with this.

"You just," Yang paused, clicking her tongue against her teeth, "you look so much like her," she explained.

Ruby smiled weakly and returned to her book. The illustration was very similar to a famous painting of an Ursa Major attacking a group of Huntsmen and Huntresses.

"Don't say that," Ruby said, softly.

"Why not?" Yang asked. "It's true. You do look like her." She smiled brightly.

"Don't say that," Ruby repeated.

Weiss got off her bed and sat down next to Ruby, placing her hand on her arm.

"Would you like me to leave now?" Weiss whispered.

Ruby shook her head firmly. She needed her partner with her now.

"I'm not her," Ruby said to her sister. "I'm not Summer."

Yang sighed. "I know that."

"Do you?" she couldn't help but feel the accusing tone in her voice. But it had been a long time since they'd talked about this, and this had been on Ruby's mind often.

Yang opened her mouth but was quickly interrupted.

"Just how much do I look like her, huh?" Ruby tugged her hair, which she knew looked so much like Summer's, red fringes and all. "My hair? My eyes? My breasts?"

"Ruby -" Weiss started, but she waved her hands dismissively.

"Obviously I look like her, Yang! She's not _your_ mom." Ruby was surprised by how much anger was pent up in her.

"That's not fair," Yang said quickly and quietly.

"What's not fair? That Summer is dead? That she abandoned me before I learned to read?"

"Don't speak about her like that," Yang snapped. "She's your mom."

"I don't have a mom!" Ruby cried.

Yang physically flinched when she said this. Her eyes darted back and forth between her and some dark corner of the room.

"What happened?" Yang asked sadly. "You used to adore her. When was the last time you went to visit her?"

Ruby shook her head. "I don't know. A year ago? Last winter? Why does it even matter? She's dead."

"We don't know that," Yang protested.

"She was eaten alive by those monsters," Ruby spat.

"Mom -"

"Your mother is dead." Ruby felt the darkness within her where the Huntress had given out.

"Summer might -"

"Raven!" Ruby corrected. "That's your mom. Summer is dead and so is she."

Weiss reached out to put her hand on Ruby's, but Ruby drew her hand away. She couldn't deal with physical contact right now.

"The real tragedy," Ruby said, "is that it's been ten years and you still haven't moved on."

"Raven's not dead," Yang said.

Ruby shook her head. "You promised. You _promised_ you'd stopped looking."

"That's not... No, I promised I wouldn't let the search consume me."

"And?" Ruby asked. "You still see her, don't you." Ruby stood up and tossed off her cloak, letting it crumple and deflate into the floor.

"I -" Yang closed her eyes for a couple seconds, and then opened them again. Ruby could see there were tears starting to well up in them. "Yes," she admitted.

Ruby's anger burned itself out. She realized just how tired she was. She hadn't slept at all last night. So she sat down next to her sister on the bed.

"Do you need help," she asked, her voice almost completely devoid of emotion now.

Yang shook her head. "I'm okay this time, I promise."

Ruby looked at her uncertainly. She wanted to believe her.

"But," Yang started, and bit her lip. "I have a lead."

"A lead." Ruby repeated the word slowly. She wasn't even disappointed, because she hadn't really ever believed her sister had moved on. She was vaguely aware of Weiss sitting on the ground where she'd left her, her legs folded beside her.

"Yes," Yang said. "Please believe me, I'm not making it up."

Ruby just breathed in and out slowly, indifferent.

"Team CFVY - you know, the second years, right?" Yang asked.

Ruby nodded dimly.

"They're on a mission - they were supposed to come back today, but, they found her. They found Raven."

Yang was confused and overly hopeful, as usual.

"It's really her. Velvet took a picture."

Some other woman who looked like her.

"And she stole Coco's... Ruby?" Yang waved her hands in front of Ruby's face. Ruby barely even saw them.

"I was going to tell you someting," Ruby said. "But... I don't think I will anymore."

Yang's eyes widened. "Ruby, please, just listen to me, you know I'm not, I'm not crazy. Just last week they -"

Ruby leaned in and hugged her sister. It was dark. She was reminded of something, a memory that hadn't surfaced in a long time. Of them watching movies on the CCT as children. She was lying earlier when she said she didn't have a mother. There was somebody who filled that role.

Yang pushed her away. "I don't think - I'm sorry. Ruby, please, I'm sorry."

Ruby just gazed sadly away from her and didn't say anything. They remained quiet for a time, until Yang stood up and walked to the door.

"Don't go," Weiss said. "Not again. We were worried when you didn't come back last night."

Yang sighed. "Ruby, is it okay if I stay?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes."

"Okay. I'll... I guess I'll brush my teeth or something."

Yang opened the door to the bathroom. The light in there was on and Ruby had to squint.

"Goodnight, sis," Yang said.

"Goodnight, sis," Ruby replied. "I..."

But somehow she couldn't say the words that once came easily.


End file.
